Elysian
by MuggleMeister6614
Summary: 26 years after their parents faced Voldemort, the Next Generation are faced with a different kind of depravity- a marriage law. Rose is paired with her most hated rival and unlikely companion: Scorpius Malfoy. Can she leave her prejudice behind, can he set aside his pride? Or is the line between love and hate in fact extremely wide... and laced with barbed wire and landmines.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Alright here we go, hope you enjoy this Scorose Marriage Law fic. This starts off about half-way through Rose's seventh year. If you want to know how I arranged the 2nd gen characters, age-wise and house-wise, there is some info in my profile.**

 **I should be updating weekly, but I have exams coming up and I'm just an all roud lazy person so that probably won't happen. I'm going to upload the next Chapter tomorrow though, just to get things started properly.**

 **Cover credit to Himu90 on deviantart.**

 **Anyway off we go...**

 _ **Chapter 1**_

I knew something was wrong the moment I woke up.

It was just a feeling in the air at first- I could almost _smell_ it. Something was off, and it wasn't just because of the unusual silence.

Looking around I saw that the dorm was completely empty... at 8:30... on a Saturday. I was usually the first up on the weekends- eager to get down to the library and start my studying. N.E.W.T.s were coming up soon and I had been diligently revising for the last three months.

Sure, some of the other girls in my dorm, including Alice, woke up earlyish- so I wasn't too worried until I realised that Dom's bed was empty. Dominique- my most gorgeous, fiery and perpetually lazy cousin. She could easily sleep in until past midday on a weekend. And she almost always did.

I jerked upright and all but jumped out of bed, dragging my duvet with me in my haste to get up. I looked at her bed again, realising with a strangely worrying start that there were no pyjamas sloppily thrown across her bed- nor did her trunk look like it had been ransacked for clothes that morning.

There was once a time when I had believed that not even the Devil himself could compel Dom to go out of the dorm in her pyjamas. Perhaps that's why it worried me so much, you're probably thinking I'm being dramatic. But I already had an uneasy feeling in my stomach, and this new revelation was not helping.

I hurried down the stairs to the common room quicker than I care to admit. It was completely empty, a state I had hardly ever come across it in. It was always held atleast a handful of Gryffindors, from the early hours of the morning to late at night. Not only was I alone in the room, but half finished mugs of coffee and partially written essays had been just left on the tables.

That was all the affirmation I needed that something wasn't right. I left the common room as the strange feeling in my gut grew and grew. I hastened through the castle, still in my pyjamas and not even noticing my bare feet growing cold. There were other people too, wandering towards the great hall in a distressed yet almost dazed manner. Some of them were fully dressed. Some- like me- seemed to have been unnerved from the moment they woke and were still in their nightwear.

Usually, the racket in the great hall was detectable from at least the floor above. But there was nothing today, even as I came down the stairs to the room in front of the hall, not a sound came from behind those great oak doors. I was starting to think the castle had been evacuated whilst I slept.

It was only when I opened the doors to reveal the packed hall did my heart rate slow down.

Only to pick right back up again at the tense and anxious faces that turned my way. Half of the occupants were dressed the same as me, the other half had obviously thrown on whatever they could find before hurrying here.

I scampered to my habitual spot on the Gryffindor table and slid in; between Dom and Lily. Hugo and Alice sat across from me, but didn't say a word as I sat down- none of them did.

I was almost too queasy to speak at this point, but my confusion overwhelmed it and I asked my cousins, "what's going on?"

"Well," Dom began, not taking her eyes from the teachers' table. "We don't really know- McGonagall has an announcement."

"Well... it might be nothing big, why does everyone look so worried? It could just be about our N.E. ?" It was more of a question that a real reassurance.

"There are rumours going around," Lily said, turning to face me. "People are saying-" She never finished her sentence, as at that moment, McGonagall stood up and assumed her place at the front of the hall.

She began slowly, in fact for a moment she didn't speak at all. It seemed like forever to our distressed minds. Really, it must have been only a few seconds.

"Students, I... have an announcement to make." She seemed unsure how to say what she was trying to say. "The government has been... debating something for quite sometimes." As she clasped her hands together, I saw that they were shaking. It was only a slight tremble, indiscernible to most. But I had always had an eye for detail. It worried me, Professor McGonagall was never nervous.

"As you well know, there has been a severe drop in the wizarding population since the war twenty-six years ago." She paused again, "the number of squibs being born has risen distinctly due to the parents' post-traumatic stress." Whispers started up, but were silenced easily with an only half-stern look from the headmistress.

"This has created problems for the Ministry of Magic. A decline in the magical population will cause many more problems to the wizarding world in upcoming years. So." She stopped, closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "They have introduced a marriage law that will affect people from ages seventeen to thirty. Those of you in Seventh year that are not yet seventeen will also be included."

The hall was in an uproar before she was even halfway through the first sentence. Dominique was on her feet beside me, yelling and shouting profanities that were all but lost in the clamour. I was just stunned into silence, now positive I was dreaming.

Or having a nightmare.

The hall was silenced once more when Professor McGonagall raised her hand. "Your counterparts will be chosen by the ministry, based off of estimated compatibility and likelihood of creating magical children."

"WHAT THE _FUCK_ ", Dom screamed then, as the howls and shouts of protest restarted louder this time, and I was pretty sure even Professor McGonagall couldn't get the room back under control.

I was motionless, shocked into submission. Could they do that? Surely there was some sort basic human right that conflicted with this. I looked over at the Slytherin table and searched for my cousin, Al. He seemed to be stunned, just like me. Scorpius Malfoy was beside him, on his feet, but not shouting. Just silently fuming.

In any other situation, I would have revelled in Malfoy's aggravation. The more prejudiced side of me might have thought something snide. 'Daddy can't help you now, Malfoy,' for example.

As it happened, I wasn't exactly feeling it in the moment.

Lily took my hand and turned concerned eyes on me. She was a fifth year, not subject to this law yet, but I was sure it would still be in practice when she turned seventeen.

That thought provoked the first flash of real anger in me. Lily was the most innocent, caring, gentle and yet bold and passionate girl ever, I felt a protectiveness over her that I didn't feel for my other cousins, despite how much I loved them.

And Lucy, my youngest cousin... I felt it for her too. I looked over at the Hufflepuff table, but she was lost amongst the mob of angry students.

Hugo's head was in his hands. I wanted to reach over and comfort my brother, but the table was too wide and the hand that Lily wasn't holding was balled into a fist that I couldn't undo.

My other cousin, Louis would be all alone and I could tell from the way Dom kept looking towards the Ravenclaw table that she wanted to go to him.

McGonagall returned to her seat then, obviously deciding there was no point trying to persist with her speech.

I let my gaze fall to the wooden table in front of me. This law- it was finally registering that it didn't just affect us. My cousins out of school would be bound to it too. Molly, Fred, James, Roxy- all of them. Even Teddy and Victoire, who had pretty much been joined at the hip since before they could walk and had now been dating for about seven years.

I thought of Lorcan last, Lorcan Scamander. My- well, I suppose I must reluctantly call him my boyfriend. It's what he was, but I had never liked the word, it seemed so frivolous. I... would never say I loved him- I still thought I was too young for that, despite my technically being an adult.

I cared for him, though, abundantly and completely. And I loved being with him, the last month or two that we had been 'dating' had been some of the happiest of my life.

I turned to search for him amongst the Ravenclaws. I found him straight away, already watching me. He shot me a sad smile when our eyes met, and I sent a confident one back. I wanted to reassure him that this changed nothing.

Really, I didn't feel very confident at all.

"Letters will be sent to each of you tomorrow morning, the content of which will be more information on the specifics of the law and the names of your soon-to-be spouses," McGonagall informed us, after resuming her position standing at the front of the room. "You may return to your families tomorrow and stay for a week, but for today you must remain on the grounds. My announcement is now over, you may stay and have your breakfasts or go and continue your days as normal."

I almost laughed, continue our days as normal. It really was quite comical. This information would dictate the rest of our lives- it hadn't even sunk in yet. We would all be paired up with someone we didn't choose, married off and then forced to produce little magic babies for the ministry.

I got up and left the hall with most of the school, I don't think many people had much of an appetite after what they'd just heard.

Lorcan caught up with me as I was walking up the stairs, pulling me to the side."Rose..." He began, then trailed off. But I suppose there wasn't really much else to say.

"It'll be ok." I told him, smiling that deceitfully confident smile again, "I'm gonna go see my family, can we talk later?" I asked. He nodded of course, and I turned, pulling my hand out of his and continuing up the stairs.

My family was already huddled together when I swung aside the portrait hole and clambered into the common room. Louis and Lucy had come too, and so had Al. Alice was sitting on the other side of the room, with her brother Frank.

I sat down on an armchair and realised with a strange sort of shift that me, Al and Dom were the parent generation now. The oldest members of our family in Hogwarts. We had been at school for half a year already, but this was the first time I had noticed it. Our younger cousins would be looking to us to make the situation better. And I didn't know how.

"It almost seems like a big joke." Hugo said bitterly.

"It does," agreed Louis from his place on the sofa next to Dom, holding her hand.

"Maybe Fred and James are behind it," Al suggested, smiling slightly and clearly making an effort to get the mood up.

"Well, we can ask them tomorrow. McGonagall said we're allowed to go home." I said, already feeling better at the thought of seeing my family tomorrow. I assumed we would all go back to the Burrow- to be with the everyone.

There was silence among us for a few moments, before Dom spoke. "They can't do this." Her anger hadn't faded since her outbursts in the Great Hall.

"They just did," Louis said dryly, whilst absent-mindedly picking at the frayed material of his pyjama top.

"I wonder what happens if we refuse." I looked to Dom, perhaps we should have been shocked by the utterance. But we had all been thinking it, I was sure.

"Maybe we'll find out on the letter tomorrow," I suggested, feeling my stomach twist in knots at the idea of reading that damned piece of paper.

"When I get that letter, there's only one thing I'm looking for, and it won't be that," Dom replied. We fell into silence again. We spent maybe ten minutes just listening to the oddly calming rhythm of the rain tapping on the window panes.

"Let's play exploding snap," Lily suggested eventually. We all sat forward; eager, glad for the distraction.

We spent the day together- there were a few times I thought of going to Lorcan, but I could never bring myself to get up and do it. Besides, I told myself, Lorcan would understand that I needed to be with my family.

We missed lunch, but by the time dinner came all of us were desperate for food so we headed down to the Great Hall together. How any members of our family lasted almost a whole day with no food is still a mystery to me.

Al and Louis returned to their respective tables when we entered the hall, but Lucy stayed and sat with the rest of us on the Gryffindor table. As soon as the food came out- we were on it like flies. We ate like proper Weasleys, and when it came to returning to our common rooms most of us were complaining that we could hardly walk.

Nanna Molly would be proud.

I went to bed as soon as we got back- it was only seven. But what can I say- it had been an emotionally straining day.

* * *

I woke up at around midnight and couldn't get back to sleep. I tossed and I turned, and I tossed some more. But I was wide awake and there was no chance of sleep for me very soon.

Eventually, I gave into my sleeplessness and curiously empty stomach, and slipped out of bed.

I padded quietly through my dorm, slipping on a jacket and my slippers and casting a quick look over my shoulder at Dom's sleeping form before I slipped out the door. I knew where to step on the stairs to avoid the creaks and I did my best, earning a strange sort of satisfaction as I jumped silently from the last step and into the common room.

It wasn't empty, a couple sat by the fire with their heads together, conversing in hushed tones, and three fourth years sat in the corner playing wizards chess. None of them cast me a second glance as I made my through the room, past the plush armchairs and slightly moth-eaten sofas to the portrait hole. I swung the painting aside and jumped through.

The Fat Lady was asleep- thank Merlin. She would have screeched up a storm if she'd seen me, and then Filch would have come running.

On the subject of Filch, I decided, better be safe than sorry. I cast a quick disillusionment charm over myself. And then I set off- I decided to go to the kitchens first. My stomach was growling, despite the ample meal I had had just six hours ago.

It was a long way to the Hufflepuff basement where the kitchens were. But I didn't mind; walking through the castle at night calmed me. It was the only rule I broke regularly- the curfew. I had always had trouble sleeping, which meant I'd been exploring Hogwarts in the dark since around year three. When I had taught myself the disillusionment charm.

When I reached the Hufflepuff common room I kept going, past it until I stood directly in front of an ornate painting of a fruit bowl. Unsuspicious and ordinary to most people, but I had learnt a trick or two from my Uncle George.

I removed my disillusionment charm, before reaching up and tickling the pear. Smiling in amusement as it began to wriggle and move under my touch so much so that it began to wiggle out of the painting and change shape. Until, quite suddenly, a green doorknob had replaced the ticklish pair.

I grasped it and swung the painting open to reveal the kitchens.

The first time I had gone down here was with Fred and James in second year. I had been shocked by the sheer size of it then- and I still was now. It was as big as the Great Hall above it, with a blazing fire and the biggest kitchen I had ever seen. On the other side was where the house elves slept and lived whilst they weren't cooking. Their living areas were quite luxurious- and I remember my mum proudly saying she had played a part in that.

Half of the house elves were awake still- leaving me to wonder how much those beds actually got used. They rushed towards me, chattering excitedly and obviously eager to start cooking.

"What would you like, Miss Weasley," one of them asked, their large, globe-like eyes dancing with joy in the fire-light.

"Just some midnight snacks, Heekey," I replied to the house elf who spoke to me. "If that's alright."

She seemed delighted as she rushed off with about ten other house elves. I supposed she didn't get addressed by name very regularly.

The remaining house elves dragged me by the hands to a stool by the fire and sat me down. They started telling me stories of their recent escapades. Mostly food related, but I still listened intently. I loved being around them- they were never anything but happy and they always wanted to talk.

I had only been sitting there for five minutes before Heekey was back and was pushing a bag into my hands. A quick peek told me it was full of pastries, sausage rolls, pork pies and the such. The house elves, aided by their magical abilities, worked fast.

Then they were pushing me out of the door, waving a cheery goodbye and imploring me to come back again soon. I replaced the disillusionment charm and set off back through the castle once more, this time with no clear destination in mind.

I thought about going to see Lorcan, but as I moved through the dark corridors I found myself taking all the wrong turns.

Instead, I was heading toward the Slytherin dorm. I suppose, subconsciously I just wanted to see Al. My cousin- my best friend. Dom was my best friend too- of course, and Alice Longbottom. But Al was always the one to comfort me when I was down- or vice versa.

I ran my fingers along the wall of the dungeons in the dark as an attempt to find the way into the Slytherin common room. Not because there was any difference in the way the bricks felt- but I had done this a fair amount of times before- I knew roughly the number of bricks down the corridor it was until I reached the entrance.

40, 41, 42... 43. There we go, forty-three was about right. I stepped back and faced the wall.

"Parseltongue," I whispered the password at the wall I could barely see. It didn't move for a few seconds, and in the silence it felt much longer to wait until, eventually, there was a strange hissing noise and the wall slid aside for me. It revealed a room bathed in eery green light; how anyone could ever find it homely, I would never know.

I felt slightly sorry for Al as I stepped inside and moved through the common room, this wasn't cosy at all. He hadn't once complained, though- so perhaps he didn't mind.

There were a few more people in here than there were in the Gryffindor common room. Older students- in my year or sixth year. Most of them paid me no attention- one or two of the ones I had gotten out of sorts with in the past watched me warily.

I'm almost- but not quite- embarrassed to say that I had had... disagreements with quite a few of the Slytherins in my year. It wasn't on purpose- when I was younger I might have been a little prejudiced against Slytherin it's true. Especially after Al was sorted as a snake.

I had shouted at him- which is something I really am ashamed of. I told him I was angry because Slytherin was the evil house. I was younger then- but I still should have know better. Honestly, I don't think I meant what I said, even when I said them. I was just feeling hurt, Al was my best friend; we were supposed to be in Gryffindor together. Then suddenly he was running around dressed all in green and silver with his bestest buddy, Malfoy.

I had gotten over my hate of Slytherin. My hate of Scorpius Malfoy, however, still rung true.

At first, I admit, I had hated him because my dad told me to and because he 'stole' my best friend. But since then, I assure you, he's done more than enough to prove he's worthy of my hostility.

I reached the door of Al's dorm then. It was silent inside so I didn't bother knocking. Instead, I cracked the door open and slid through. Clicking it softly shut after me.

I heard Al snoring almost straight away- he had always been a loud snorer. I smiled to myself, remembering all the jokes that had been made at the expense of the pig like noises that he emitted whilst he slept.

I lay down on the side of the bed that he wasn't currently occupying. "Al," I whispered, "wake up." I knew he wouldn't mind me waking him up in the middle of the night- Al could fall asleep anywhere, anytime. He could be woken up- and fall back to sleep within seconds if he wanted to.

I, however, took hours to fall asleep and often didn't get to bed until 12 because of studying anyway. Let's just say if anyone woke me up for a situation short of a fire or a thief who was stealing all my books- I would not be happy.

He opened his eyes groggily after I tried to peel them open for the third time. Whispering his name would never have worked- of course not; he had Weasley blood. He slept like a hedgehog in hibernation.

"Rose?" He asked, squinting his eyes as if he thought he might have been hallucinating. "What's going on?"

"Nothing," I said, wriggling under the covers and hoping to Merlin he had some sort of underwear on.

"Why are you here?"

"Couldn't sleep." I confessed, looking at him, "and I wanted to talk to you."

"About what?" He asked, concern now creeping into his bright green eyes.

"Nothing in particular," I replied nonchalantly- it was the truth. I just wanted to be around him and hear his voice. "Brought food though," I told him, grinning and holding up the bag Hookey had given me.

He returned my grin and sprung into a sitting position, grabbing the bag and peering into it eagerly. "Aw yes," he said, reaching in and grabbing a sausage roll, before proceeding to stuff the whole thing in his mouth. "My favourite," he told me around the pastry.

"You're disgusting," I complained, reaching over and taking the bag back. I got myself a pork pie and ate it heartily.

We did talk about nothing in particular- like I had said. We avoided talk of our impending marriages and spoke instead of quidditch, N.E. , and what we wanted to do after Hogwarts career-wise.

See, our older cousins had had it all sorted out very early on in their lives. Teddy had always loved dragons, he was obsessed with them when he was little. Now he worked with Uncle Charlie as a dragonologist. They travelled the world with a group of experts, discovering new species' and looking after existing ones.

Victoire had always wanted to go into fashion- and now she was. She worked with the best magical designers- creating dresses made up of 'butterflies' that flutter and dance, for example . Really, it was thousands of tiny butterfly-shaped bits of material. Charmed to move like the real thing.

When I was younger I had thought she was throwing away all her magical talent by going into fashion. She had always been a talented witch- and I had thought fashion magic was easy. It wasn't- it required really advanced charms- Vic did it beautifully.

Molly had been writing contracts and 'business deals' since before she could spell. Aunt Audrey once told me that Molly had made Lucy sign a contract saying that Molly would get her share of ice-cream, in return for lending her a doll. Lucy was two at the time, and Molly was eight.

Now she was working for the Minster for Magic, Kingsley Shaklebolt. His right-hand man- so to speak. Working weekends and weeknights. She was always on duty, but it seemed to be paying off. Some people even said she could be heading for Minister after Shacklebolt.

Then there was Fred and James- they'd been helping out at the Weasley joke shop for as long as I could remember. Now they were helping to manage it along with dad and Uncle George. Apparently, James came out of the womb laughing, and Aunt Angelina told me that Fred's first sign of magic was turning a five-year-old Roxanne's doll into a jack-in-the-box that popped out and made her scream so loud the neighbours came over to see what was happening.

On the subject of Roxy- she had only graduated last year, but was already on the reserves for the Holyhead Harpies. We were proud of her, of course- but this was no surprise either. She'd been a skilled quidditch player since she had got her first broom at seven. She was a beater- and had once hit a bludger so hard it had travelled into the stands, knocking out a Slytherin boy in her year.

She had claimed it was an accident, but I had heard rumours that she had caught that particular boy snogging a girl in a broom cupboard when he and Roxy were supposed to be having a midnight meet up on the astronomy tower.

So yeah, those were the cousins that had gone before us- every single one of them had dived straight out of school and into successful careers. And whilst I had been doing the best out of all of them academically (save perhaps Molly) I had no idea what to do after I left Hogwarts. And neither did Al.

"I'll probably just get some boring office job at the ministry and stay there for the rest of my life," Al said, indifferently. "A shit love life and a shit career, that's what's waiting for me after Hogwarts."

"No," I replied, shaking my head. "You're going to do something exciting with your life, I can tell." I tried to sound as genuine as possible- I really did believe it.

"Oh, so you can see my future now?" He chuckled, "I thought you hated divination. You called it, what did you say again? 'Imprecise codswallop that only human experiments in artificial stupidity would believe, let alone study,' were the exact words you used, I believe."

I blushed, remembering the day I had said those words... to Professor Trelawney's face; in the middle of a divination lesson; before walking out.

"And you weren't finished either," Al said, chuckling at the memory. "You kept going. What was it? 'This class is a few clowns short of a circus and-'"

"dumber than a soup sandwich." I finished, laughing now. "I remember. I stormed out after I said that. I will never forget the look on Trelawney's face. She hardly even looked surprised."

"She's never surprised. She sees everything before it happens in her mAgIc CrYsTaL bAlL." He spoke, moving his hands in exaggerated flourishes around an imaginary floating orb above him.

"Stop," I laughed, hitting him lightly on the arm. "How do you even remember what I said anyway. That was four years ago, but you can still say it word for word?"

"Oh, believe me, I am _never_ letting myself forget that. I recite it to myself every night when I fall asleep- just to ensure I remember it until I die." He joked, chuckling.

I laughed with him, before scoffing another sausage roll and closing my eyes. That's how we fell asleep.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Alright, Chapter 2. Please let me know if you guys are liking this fic, I know there isn't much Scorose yet, but we can't rush things. It will come eventually ;).**

 **Also, this fic is rated T right now, but that might change when the scenes get more mature. I'm not sure how graphic I want to be though, so I'm haven't settled on a finite rating.**

 _ **Chapter 2:**_

I woke late- I could tell straight away. There was no bird song or watery morning light. There was no steady breathing from sleeping bodies that can usually be heard early in the morning.

I opened my eyes, confused by the lack of warmth beside me and saw that Al was gone. I sat up, confused and looked around, groggily and slightly dazed. There was a boy sleeping on one of the beds, but apart from that the only other person in the room was Malfoy.

I groaned internally, knowing this meant I would have to actually _interact_ with him. He was sitting facing away from me on his bed, bent over and reading what looked like a letter. He was still in his nightwear. Which just so happened to be a pair of boxers... and nothing else.

This wasn't the first time I had noticed Malfoy's aversion to wearing shirts. In fact, the whole of Al's dorm seemed to have some sort of allergy or affliction that prevented them from wearing anything to cover their torsos. They had almost always been topless when I had visited Al before.

You're probably wondering why I'm complaining so much. Especially since Scorpius Malfoy is not exactly described as ugly very often- let's just put it like that. Once, I had heard a girl describing him to her friends as a 'creation chiselled by the Greek Gods and sent to bless us all'.

I had snorted, and she had looked at me and turned bright red.

She wasn't wrong that he could have been sculpted by Gods- I wasn't so blinded by my hatred for him that I couldn't at least see that. But a blessing? He was anything but.

That's why I complain about his apparent phobia of clothes that cover his upper body. It feels wrong to see someone you hate so much, half naked and kind of _like it_.

I shook my head to clear my thoughts before speaking. "Where's Al?" I asked, as harshly as I could, whilst still sounding relatively civil.

"Not here," he replied helpfully, without even bothering to look around or acknowledge me properly.

"Well, yes Malfoy. I can _see_ that." I returned dryly, sighing in frustration and throwing back the covers. "Did he say where he was going?" I asked, standing up and speaking slowly and simply so I knew he would understand.

He shrugged, his focus not leaving the letter in his grasp. I rolled my eyes and started towards the door, before deciding against it. I had been wearing the same thing since Friday night, a shower couldn't wait until I was back in my own dorm.

I turned on heel and marched into the bathroom on the other side of the dorm. Shutting, and carefully locking, the door behind me.

I shrugged my pyjamas off, glad to be rid of them, and got in the shower, my toes curling slightly against the cooled, ceramic tiles. I turned it on and it warmed almost instantaneously- one of the luxuries of living in a magical world.

I let myself enjoy the hot stream of water before I got around to actually washing myself. I spent almost five minutes letting the sounds and the heat drown out my thoughts and just focusing on the feeling of the water on my back.

When I finally came to wash my hair and body, I realised the disadvantages of showering here instead of in my own dorm. It was all male-based shampoos and shower gel 'for men'. Honestly, I didn't know what the difference was, but I didn't really want to end up smelling like boy.

It wasn't like I could change my mind now and traipse through the castle soaking wet and naked, so I got on with it. Taking my sweet time again about lathering up the shampoo and soap, massaging it into my skull and skin.

Then I rinsed myself, slowly and thoroughly. I told myself it was because I wanted to enjoy this shower, but in reality, I was hoping that Malfoy would have left the dorm once I was done in the shower.

Or at least Al might have returned.

I got out, noticing my lack of a towel and reaching for my wand in my pyjama pocket. I could cast a quick drying spell instead- it was easy.

But my wand wasn't in either of my pockets, which meant it had probably fallen out in Al's bed. Oh Merlin, I hoped the dorm was empty- perhaps then I could dart out and grab it. It was slightly risky, but if I heard anyone coming I could always dive under the covers.

I put on my pyjamas bottoms as insurance and put my bra back on, before opening the door a crack and poking my head- and only my head- around it. Malfoy was still there, in fact, he had hardly moved from where he had been sitting earlier,

Al was still nowhere to be seen, Merlin's beard my cousin sure always knows when it's most inconvenient to be absent.

"Malfoy," I said in an unnecessarily hushed voice, as if I was trying to avoid attracting attention from the _one_ other person in the room, who happened to be fast asleep. "Pass me my wand."

He turned then, and I could actually see the amusement grow in his silver eyes. "What's the magic word?" He asked languidly, sauntering over to Al's bed and dexterously picking up my wand.

I rolled my eyes, "abracadabra." My voice dripped sarcasm like venom. It didn't seem to faze him.

"No," he replied, as he walked closer. He was twirling my wand fluidly in his fingers. Merlin, I wanted to slap that smug smirk off of his face.

" _Please_ ," I answered through gritted teeth. He held it out in front of him, it was so close I could probably- I reached out and grabbed for it, but he moved back just as I did and in my eagerness to retrieve it I stepped out into the room before I could even think.

I stopped suddenly, looking down at myself. Thank Merlin I had decided to put my trousers on before I opened the door. As for the top half of me... I had my bra on, at least. But I was still way more exposed than I would want to be in front of almost anyone, especially Malfoy.

I looked up to see that smirk still on his face.

" _Dick_ ," I spat at him, before snatching my wand from his grasp and returning to the bathroom, slamming the door behind me. I heard him chuckle after I was inside, and it made my blood boil with fury.

I dried myself and dressed quickly, back into my pyjamas as I had no other clothes with me. I left the room and marched through the dorm quickly and purposefully, not even sparing him a glance as I went. Then down the stairs and into the common room.

I got strange looks as I went through the common room. A girl, dressed in the same clothes as the night before, leaves the boys dorm in the morning. I understood why they were looking, but I wished they would stop all the same.

Someone wolf-whistled sarcastically as I left through the door, I ignored them.

I tried to keep to the less-frequented routes back to the Gryffindor tower. It sort of worked- I only ran into a few people, thank Merlin.

"Dilligrout," I spoke firmly as soon as I was standing in front of the Fat Lady.

"Oh, and where have you been young lady?" She asked, in that high pitched voice I couldn't stand. "I don't remember you leaving this morn-"

" _Dilligrout_ ," I ground out, frustration growing in the pit of my stomach.

"Oh, _alright_ ," She conceded, swinging aside and letting me climb through the portrait hole.

My family was sitting in a circle in the common room, fully dressed with their trunks packed by their sides. They turned to look at me as I walked to in, sighing dramatically when they saw it was me and climbing to their feet.

" _Finally_ ," Dom said, exasperated, "where have you been?"

"I was just-" I began to explain.

"Scratch that, it doesn't matter," she told me, "I've already packed your trunk," she pushed a bundle of clothes into my arms and then shoved me in the direction of the dorms. "Get changed and then we can go."

"Where's Al?" I asked, looking around and unable to see him.

"He went to get you, he should be back soon so _hurry up_."

I turned and jogged up the stairs to my dorm. Changing quickly and leaving my pyjamas on the bed- there were others I could wear over the next week at the Burrow.

Al was climbing through the portrait hole just as I reached the bottom of the stairs. Lucy and Lily had already flooed away, and Louis was crouching to get in the fireplace as I walked over to the group and picked up my trunk.

"The Burrow," he spoke firmly, before throwing a handful of the green powder into the fire below. The flames engulfed him, and when they returned to normal, he was gone and Hugo was already climbing in after him.

Al picked up his trunk and came and stood next to me. "Where were you?" He asked. I looked at him, incredulous.

"Where was _I_?" I asked, exasperated. "Where were _you_? I woke up and you were gone and I was alone in a room with _Malfoy_ "

He rolled his eyes, "stop being so dramatic. You're saying that like I left you alone with Voldemort himself."

"You might as well have," I muttered under my breath. He shot me a disapproving look, but a grin was tugging at his lips.

Then it was my turn, I grabbed a handful of floo powder and made my way into the fireplace. "The Burrow," I half-shouted, as clearly as possible. Then I threw down the powder and felt the flames come up and around me.

Then I was off, travelling the world via chimneys and catching glimpses of rooms beyond as the world went upside down and all around, causing a nauseous feeling in my stomach. I was just starting to regret everything I ate with Al the night before when my feet hit firm ground and I stumbled forward, into the kitchen of The Burrow.

"Rosie!" I heard my dad exclaim as he came forward to hug me. I was glad for the support, as I was still regaining my balance.

I smiled at him as my head stopped spinning and I moved to hug my mum. She kissed me on the forehead- an action which usually resulted in me swatting her away and complaining that she couldn't do that; I was an adult now.

This time I didn't pull away, instead, I revelled in the comforted feeling it gave me. I was the same height as my mum now, but she still felt so steady and constant and grown up to me.

I hugged nana and Grandpa and all my uncles and aunts in turn as my cousins continued tumbling out of the fireplace behind me. Andromeda was there too, even Uncle Charlie had turned up.

nana Molly had already cooked us breakfast- of course. She ushered us towards the table and starting piling everything she could on our plates. Eggs, beans, bacon, hashbrowns. I wasn't even all that hungry, but I ate as if I hadn't in weeks. Hardly bothering to make sure the food fit in my mouth before shoving it in anyway.

Our older cousins arrived later than us. Molly came first- punctual, as always. We heard the tell-tale _crack_ of someone apparating into the garden and ran out to meet her as she walked up the path towards us. Lucy swung her arms around her sister and didn't let go even as we all walked together back up to the house.

It was only maybe five minutes until the next arrival. James, Fred and Roxy lived together, so arrived at the same time. Well, almost. Fred was the first to appear in the fireplace. He hadn't even had a second to regain his footing properly, let alone step out into the kitchen, when James flooed in. Landing on top of his cousin and sending them both sprawling into the kitchen in a mass of waving limbs.

I clutched the back of a chair to keep myself upright as I laughed. No one bothered to help them up.

Roxy flooed in seconds later. She didn't even look surprised at the scene her brother and cousin had already caused. Instead, she just rolled her eyes and stepped easily over their tangled bodies to hug her parents.

Ginny eventually got her hysterical laughter under control and rushed forward to help her son and nephew to their feet. They were covered in ash and soot, but both laughing.

We sat down again, now having to levitate in chairs from around the house to sit everyone in the cramped kitchen. James and Fred wasted no time in loudly and animatedly telling us about everything that had happened in their lives since we had last seen them at Christmas.

Roxy interrupted them then, just as they were going to start the fifth retelling of one of their adventures. "Everyone," she all but yelled for the attention of the whole room, "Estee Erickson is retiring from quidditch, so I'll be trying out for permanent beater next week." There was an excited chorus around the table, and George pulled his daughter into an embrace, the proudest beam on his face.

A loud crack sounded outside again and seconds letter the door to the kitchen opened, Victoire and Teddy stepped in, hand-in-hand. The room went silent, ready to start with the sympathy. To hug them and comfort them because we all knew how in love they were- and now it was ruined.

But _they_ didn't look sad. In fact, they were both beaming from ear-to-ear, practically glowing with happiness. Teddy's hair was a vibrant turquoise- the colour it went when he was happy.

We had all been expecting to have to comfort them, no one knew what to do.

"What's going on you two?" Nana Molly asked, suspicion creeping into her voice. Victoire looked to Teddy, then back to the rest of the room, she looked as though she was about to burst with excitement.

"We eloped!" She exclaimed abruptly, holding her hand out in front of her to show us the simple gold band that adorned her ring finger.

Nana Molly practically screeched with happiness, before engulfing them both in her hug as we cheered for the happy couple. Aunt Fleur was next, throwing her arms tightly around her daughter as Unce Harry clapped Teddy on the back and Andromeda rushed forward to hug him. We all took it in turns to congratulate them, the news had truly lifted all our spirits.

I was indescribably glad Teddy and Victoire would be spending their lives together. They had been so in love for a long time.

"When did you do this?" Ginny asked, once the noise had died down and Teddy and Vic were allowed to breathe.

"Friday," Teddy answered, "before they even announced the law." His hand was back holding Vic's tightly.

"How did you know?" Angelina asked the question we were all wondering.

"Well," Victoire looked to my second oldest cousin, "It was all down to Molly actually." She explained beaming. "She told us, even though she could have lost her job and more. We are eternally thankful."

We turned to look at Molly, who now stood slightly flushed in the corner. "Well, anyone would have done the same." She explained modestly, "I would have told the rest of you, but you don't understand how hush hush Kingsley was keeping it. I was breaking the law even just telling two people." She spoke quickly, as if she had to justify herself.

"Oh come 'ere my darling," Fleur exclaimed, pulling Molly into a hug and kissing her hair firmly. "Zank you so much!"

"It was nothing really," Molly mumbled from Fleur's tight grasp. But it wasn't nothing, and we all knew it. Leaking confidential information from the Ministry was a big deal. It could even end in jail time- not to mention you would be jobless.

Grandpa Arthur drew up two more chairs with his wand for Vic and Teddy and we all sat around the kitchen table. It was cramped and loud and impossibly busy. But for a while, the shouting and congratulations and funny stories down from Fred and James' end drowned out any thought of the marriage law.

My good mood and the loud chatter were both ended simultaneously by a rap at the window. I felt my stomach drop- everyone looked towards the Ministry issued owl on the window sill. No one made any movement to go to the window, though, so it stayed there for what felt like minutes- but was probably a few seconds. The tapping on the window getting gradually louder and more violent.

Eventually, Uncle Percy stood and strode purposefully over and opened the window. The bird swooped in easily, dropped seven thick letters on the table, and flew out without a single pause.

Molly reached for her letter first and placed it on the table in front of her. The wax ministry seal lay face up.

Dom went for hers next and did the same as Molly. Fred and James got theirs at the same time, and then Al. None of them made any move to open theirs.

Roxy took hers next, and then only one was left on the table. ' _Rose Weasley_ ' was written on the front in cursive lettering. I wanted to blast it into smithereens, right there and then. Perhaps then I wouldn't have to do what it said.

Instead, I reached forward and dragged it over the table to rest in front of me.

"Together," Molly said, "3, 2, 1." We reached forward in unison and began the break the seal on the envelope. I tipped mine upside down, letting the contents spill onto the table. There was a glossy booklet that came out first, followed by a single piece of paper.

I picked up the letter and unfolded it, just to stare blindly at the top of it for a few moments, refusing to let my eyes wander down and find the name. Instead, I let my cousins do it first. Let them exclaim in frustration or indifference, felt my family crowd around them in interest before I started scanning the paper.

 _Lorcan Scamander, Lorcan Scamander, Lorcan Scamander, Lorcan Scamander_

I said his name over and over again in my head as if that would somehow help it be written on this piece of paper. No, I didn't want to marry Lorcan yet- but he was my best bet. I'd much rather be forced into a marriage with him than anyone else.

Imagine if I got paired with a stranger? I would hate that, it would be the worst thing ever. Oh please, Merlin, let it not be a stranger.

Eventually, I found the name.

I take it back, I take it back I take it back I take it back. I'll marry a stranger, I'll marry a stranger who lives half way across the world who's language I don't speak a word of.

' _Scorpius Malfoy_ '

No this was a joke- a sick joke. I shook the paper as if it would magically reveal the real name underneath this ludicrous prank. But the words didn't change. Still, they sat there.

' _Scorpius Malfoy_ '

They'd mixed me up with another Rose Weasley, I was sure of it.

' _Scorpius Malfoy_ '

I was going to be married to Scorpius Malfoy.

I sat, frozen, for Merlin knows how long. When I finally tore my eyes away from the name on the letter, my family were staring at me. Hugo, mum and dad all had their concerned hawk-like gazes fixed on me.

I wanted to break down and sob for days, I wanted to cry at the kitchen table until I was out of tears and then maybe this whole problem would go away.

I wanted to explode in anger, I wanted to tear this whole situation apart and scream about this injustice at the top of my lungs until my throat was raw and dry.

Instead, I sat there, motionless and emotionless. There was a clear question in the eyes that were turning my way, one by one.

After what felt like the longest time, I regained the ability to think for myself and got to my feet, slowly and deliberately. Then, I left the room.

"Rosie?" My mum called after me, my family had the decency to leave my letter alone on the table until I was gone. As soon as I was out of sight I knew they would be scrambling over each other to get a look at it.

I climbed the stairs, controlled and steadily at first, but I began to run as soon as I knew they could no longer hear my footsteps. I found my way into the room at the top of the house, the one that had been my dad's when he was younger.

The walls were still plastered in sickly orange Chudley Cannons posters from the 80s. Nana and Grandpa had just kept it as it was, they hadn't any other use for it.

I lay down heavily on the bed in the corner, watching as a small puff of dust went up around me from the cover.

I felt immature, reacting this way. There were so many people across the country experiencing the same thing I was, I was in not place to complain. Even if I _had_ been paired with Malfoy.

And all my Uncles and Aunts, when they were my age they were fighting _Voldemort_. And here I was, cowering in my dad's old bedroom because I just had to marry someone I didn't like.

Someone I _really_ didn't like, mind you. Someone who had tormented me since I was eleven. I would be marrying into a family who had aided Voldemort in his attempt to rise to power. I had long since learnt that I couldn't blame Scorpius for that, but I sure could blame the people who had actually taken part in it.

Honestly, I wouldn't mind if the marriage law only required that we got married. We could say the words, sign the paper and then be done with it and live our separate lives.

But McGonagall had mentioned children, and that was the part that really made my stomach turn. I could hardly bare to think about it.

"Rose?" A soft voice came from the doorway. It was my mum.

"Yeah," I said, sitting up as she came in the room.

"Are you okay?" She asked, concern causing crinkles to form on her forehead.

"Yeah, I'm fine." I lied, scooting over and letting her lay next to me on the tiny bed.

"I saw the letter." She admitted as I lay back down. I didn't reply, so she continued. "I know you've never liked him, honey, but Al is very close with him. So he can't be too horrible, can he?" I didn't reply to that either.

"You should have seen your father's face when he read it," she said, letting a note of amusement melt into her voice. "He went so purple Rosie, I thought he might faint." She laughed softly. I smiled along, she was right. I would have liked to see that.

"Al is doing his best to convince everyone that Scorpius really isn't that bad," she continued. "There aren't many people listening."

"Who did everyone else get?" I asked, eager to change the subject from myself or Malfoy.

"Well, Molly got some man who works at the Ministry. She says she's never met him but recognises his name. Fred got- well you see I can't quite remember who Fred got. But James got a Hufflepuff girl that Roxy knows from her year at school." She paused to think.

"Roxy got- oh now this is a good one. Roxy got some big shot quidditch player or other. I didn't know the name, but she seemed very excited- just to meet him, I think. I don't reckon her mind is even on marriage anymore. Your father got really excited too when he saw the name, and Fred and James are both trying to trade with her." My mum chuckled softly. "Everyone's very excited about it. Dominique got some Ravenclaw boy from your year. She didn't seem particularly disappointed, but not excited either. Oh! And you'll never guess who Al got."

I looked over at her excited face, "Who?" I asked, genuinely curious.

"Alice! Alice Longbottom." She said, and I grinned. "Ginny is secretly thrilled, I think she always rather liked the idea of those two together."

I was glad too, Alice had had a crush on Al since second year, though she'd never admit it.

"You can stay up here if you want to Rosie, but I promise no one is going to bombard you with questions about anything if you come back down. They're all too wrapped up in this famous quidditch player guy." She smiled reassuringly and got back up. "But I get that you might need a moment to process, so I'll leave you alone." She walked out of the room and I listened as her footsteps got quieter and quieter.

I didn't really want to go back downstairs after walking out like a child in a tantrum. But I decided I would get it over with, I would feel better being around my family anyway. They would take my mind off of everything.

My mum was right, everyone was crowded around Roxy when I came into the kitchen. No one even noticed when I slid into my seat. I was glad for it. I picked up the piece of paper and the booklet on the table in front of me and stuffed them into my pocket, hardly letting myself look at them.

"Let me see," I said to Roxy, holding my hand out for the letter. She passed it to me and I scanned down the page to find the name.

' _Brannon Corwin_ ' I must admit, the name made me slightly giddy too. I had inherited a lot of things from my mum, but her disinclination of quidditch was not one of those things.

He was the keeper for the Irish national team, he'd played in the last world cup final. Granted, they'd lost, but Brannon had still become something of a legend across the U.K and Ireland.

I passed the letter back to her, now brimming with excitement along with the rest of my family.

I didn't mention Malfoy, and no one brought him up or pushed me to talk. Something I was extremely grateful for. My family could be insensitive at times, it's true, but never when it really counted.

* * *

My mind stayed with the letter in my back pocket the whole day. My family did their best to distract everyone from the law, we played quidditch in the nearby woods for hours, but it was a pathetic attempt at the actual game.

I let the quaffle into the goal nearly every time it was aimed my way; and it was dropped every five minutes or so, even Roxy was having a hard time hitting the bludger properly. My mind would not tear itself away from the booklet and letter in my back pocket, as if they were burning a whole in my jeans.

I was hovering in the air, in front of the home-made hoops we called 'goals', staring out at nothing in particular and thinking about what my future would be like.

I would probably have to move into Malfoy Manor after Hogwarts, unless they let us live separately. Most people would probably be thrilled by the idea of living somewhere almost as big as Buckingham Palace.

I was not thrilled. Despite the wealth I knew my parents owned, I was used to a simplistic life. I was used to a small-ish home that comfortably fit the four of us. Apart from holidays, when I was used to the Burrow. It had been cramped when my dad had lived here with only nine people- we must have tripled that number, at least.

A house that could hold near 100, but was home to only four. Well, it just sounded lonely. At least I wouldn't have to go anywhere near any of the Malfoy's most of the time. They could have their part of the house and I could have mine.

I would only need a room.

"Rosie!" someone shouted my name, I focused back on the game just in time to swing upside down on my broom as the quaffle whizzed over me.

I think everyone took that as an indicator that we should stop. No one was playing very well, and I was sure continuing would just end up in injury. Nana had sent us out because she was cooking, and she was still bustling away in the kitchen when we all piled in through the front door.

"Get out! _Get out_ ," She squawked at us, brandishing her tea-towel and chasing us back out into the garden as we trekked mud over the kitchen floor. James and Fred darted behind her, running for the sausages and laughing as she chased them around the room with the wooden spoon she had now picked up.

They ran past us out of the door with their hard-won sausages in hand, and she followed them down the path with her spoon held over her head.

I grabbed a roast potato on my way through the kitchen and ate it as I wandered upstairs. I walked all the way up the rickety house once more to my dad's old room. Once I had closed the door carefully, I finally brought the letter and booklet out of my pocket.

I sat back down on the dusty bed, and began to read.

 **A/N: Thanks for reading everyone, leave a review if you liked it or if you have any constructive criticism- it would mean alot.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: None of this story is mine and I'm making no profit from it.**

 **A/N: Chapter 3! Once again sorry, but there isn't much Scorose in this chapter. The story is gonna be a bit slow for a few chapters, but it's unavoidable, sorry :C. Also, I'm struggling a little with a scene in Chapter 5 that I'm writing right now, some help would be greatly appreciated! Message me. :D**

 _ **Chapter 3**_

' _The rules of this law state that a marriage shall be executed within two months of receiving your letter._ '

Executed. Sounds about right.

' _The wedding can be as traditional or simplistic as you wish. But must adhere to the original way of performing a valid marriage.'_

...alright, unnecessary information, but alright.

' _The couple must move into a shared residence within two months_.'

There it is.

' _The first pregnancy is required withing three years.'_

I felt sick.

' _Failure will result in couples being tested for fertility_.'

I felt sicker.

' _If found healthy,'_

If found healthy. As if bad fertility is unhealthy.

 _'the couple will be given another six months_ '

Wow, so generous.

' _to become pregnant_.'

My hands were practically shaking with anger.

' _Failure to follow_ '

I breathed in a deep breath.

' _any of these rules_ '

Any of these psychotic rules,

' _or to try hard enough to create children,'_

I breathed out as steadily as I could.

' _will result from expulsion from the wizarding world_.'

...what.

' _The offender will receive a snapped wand_ '

the

' _and a complete memory wipe.'_

 _fuck._

I stood, yelling in frustration as I furiously scrunched up the booklet and threw it across the room. Sending a violent spell after it and watching with an almost crazed satisfaction as it burst into flames. and slowly dissolved into ashes.

I sat heavily back on the bed and dropped my head in my hands. I could hardly believe this was real. I kept expecting Fred and James to pop in, yell 'surprise!' And explain that it had all been one massive prank.

They didn't, but I remained in my state of disbelief with my hands covering my face.

Gradually, a noise started to build up. It sounded like a breeze through a forest and got louder and louder, turning into rustling and whooshing noises. I picked up my head and look around, my brow furrowed in confusion.

The source of the noise were the ashes of the recently and aggressively cremated booklet. The disintegrated cinders were rising into the air as a swirling mass that began to look a bit like a snow storm.

The pieces began to attach on to each other, building back up and piecing together like a magical puzzle until a fully reformed and unmarked booklet finally came to rest, gracefully, on my lap.

I sat, dumbstruck for a moment. Before slapping it away in disgust and standing up hotly.

Footsteps came pounding up the stairs then, and Lily burst into the room. "Lunch is ready." She informed me unnecessarily loudly.

"Don't you know how to knock?" I asked, rolling my eyes at her.

She stuck her tongue out at me, and I laughed at her toddler-like tendencies as I followed her down the uneven staircase. Sometimes I still couldn't believe she was actually fifteen.

I was the last person to sit down at the table. We had to sit outside as we would never have been able to move in the tiny kitchen- let alone eat anything.

My family had already tucked in, so I grabbed as much food as I could and piled it on my plate to make sure it wouldn't be all gone before I even had a chance to dig my teeth in.

Molly Weasley didn't cook small meals, everything she ever fed us was fit for a King and twice as much as we needed. Regardless, we made short work of the meal. Before long we were sitting back in our chairs, holding our stomachs in satisfaction as if they would burst without the support.

"Who wants to go play quidditch?" Joked Fred, who was met with a chorus of laughs. I was sure any attempt at sport would make me throw up all this food Nana had spent so much time on.

It was one of those lunches that meant you didn't need a proper meal in the evening. So we lounged around the house for the rest of the day and just passed around various snacks when the sun began to set.

We had moved into the living room by then, and I was playing wizards chess with Lily. It was the semi-final of a tournament that had been going for almost two hours now and all of my cousins were crowded around us, eyes glued to the game. The adults had chosen not to join in, or I was sure I wouldn't have gotten this far.

"King to F5" She ordered her little wooden people, and I smirked internally as I watched her King slide over the board.

"Queen to F5," I said, letting the triumphant grin appear on my face as I watch realisation dawn on hers.

"Not fair!" She cried, as my Queen hit her King over the head with a chair, blasting him into smithereens and scattering pieces of him over the board.

"Rose wins again," Al exclaimed loudly, holding my hand up in the air like they did in those muggle boxing matches.

"She must have cheated," Lily decided, crossing her arms stubbornly.

"Don't be a sore loser Lil," James taunted, scruffing up her hair and earning a sour face from her in response. It disappeared quickly though and she jumped to her feet.

"It's Molly's turn to play Rosie now!" She hollered, grinning.

Molly sat down across from me and tapped the board with her wand to reset it. I watched fixedly as the broken chess pieces began to put themselves back together and return to their original positions. For a moment it reminded me of the booklet I had tried my best to destroy earlier, and the words inside.

I shook my head, eager to not let that affect anytime I spent with my family.

"Now the two undefeated players in the competition will go head to head." James began, seemingly deciding to commentate our game. "It's the final of the biggest chess competition in history and Molly Weasley will face her own cousin, Rose Weasley. We can only hope this game will not drive a wedge between their familial relationship."

I shot James an amused look as Molly made her first move. "Weasley number 1 seems to be confident in her abilities as she goes straight in with move number one of the final. The ginger Weasley-" I shot him a look of mock annoyance- "has fear already growing on her face- she's definitely rattled."

I rolled my eyes whilst retaliating with my move. "Oh! Did you see that move, Ginger Weasley plays the board excellently, this is a game changer..."

James' commentary faded into the back of my focus mind as Molly and I played back and forth across the chessboard. Over the last few years, the finals had almost always been between us two. Unless the adults had decided to join us- in which case it often ended as a showdown between my parents. Or my dad versus Uncle Percy.

Whenever one of us did a risky move, a chorus of 'ooh's would be emitted from the crowd surrounding us. If we did something good, cheers or boos would greet us. It made me want to burst out laughing every time, but I kept as straight face to stick to James' story that this was the most important event of my whole life.

"We're nearing the end of this epic showdown folks, and nearing the end of this competition overall. Both competitors have trained for months for this moment, but who will be victorious, and who will be thrown into the lake?"

Me and Molly both stopped, turning to look at James, but his face gave no hint of a lie. "I thought you were joking when you said that earlier?" Molly said, worry growing on her features.

"Joking?" James asked, incredulous. "Joking!" His features changed to appalled. "James Potter never jokes!"

Molly and I shared a look, then shook our heads and continued on with the game, admittedly, there were new tensions in the game now.

"The players return to their match with new stakes hanging thick in the air. This game has been a roller-coaster ride from start to finish, I've never seen anything like it."

It only took five more minutes to finish the game. The crowd around us screamed and cheered as Molly's knight delivered the final blow. Fred held her hand up and sent mini fireworks from the tip of his wand that singed the ceiling.

They hoisted me onto their shoulders and began to carry me outside toward the lake. The air was already chilly and the lake reflected the dark night sky, overall creating an almost sinister feel.

"No!" I shrieked with laughter as we pulled closer, kicking my legs against my cousins' grips and struggling to get free to no avail. "Please! I'm too young!" They stopped on the bank, pausing and I almost began to hope they would let me down.

How naive I was. James cast a wicked grin up at me, right before I was hurled into the lake.

I coldness of the water winded me as I plunged into the dark mass of icy water. Time seemed slower all of a sudden, and so I hesitated, letting the water hold me for a moment before I actually started to kick.

It was harder to swim with all my clothes on, but I hadn't gone that far under and broke the surface within seconds, spluttering and gasping for air. The previously gentle evening breeze now felt like a gale-force wind on my wet face.

I heard my cousins and brother laughing on the bank and dragged myself towards the sound. My limbs felt heavy, making the short three-metre swim back to the edge a much bigger feat than it should have been.

Molly and Teddy helped me onto the grass and Victoire cast a simple drying charm over me. I felt instantly better, as if the iciness of the water was just a distant memory.

I laughed with my family as we made our way back inside to the warm kitchen and sat in front of the blazing fire. It didn't take long for us to start wandering off to bed, one by one. I supposed our parents had sorted out the bedding whilst we were playing chess.

I caught a glimpse of Auntie Ginny's old room as I went past, and saw that I was right. The floor was obscured completely by mattresses and sleeping bags. This always happened when the whole family came to stay- we had to fit twenty-five people into seven rooms.

I was always in Uncle George's old room, which he had shared with his twin. So that's where I made my way to now. I pushed the door aside and didn't even bother changing before I collapsed onto one of the dusty beds, glad I had was the first one in and wouldn't be left to sleep on a mattress.

I wriggled under the covers and closed my eyes, but I was still awake when Hugo and Lily came into the room ten minutes later, chatting in hushed tones about something or other.

Al came in about five minutes after that and lay down on the mattress next to my bed. I felt- rather than saw- his eyes on me for a few moments, but I kept my eyes shut and didn't move, so eventually he rolled over and fell asleep.

I wasn't sure how he slept so easily, even now after everything that had happened. He had just that morning found out he would be marrying Alice Longbottom. Yet he dozed off as if there was nothing on his mind.

I'm not sure what time it was or what I was thinking about when I eventually followed him into unconsciousness.

* * *

When I woke, it was to the sight of Al watching me with cat-like intensity in his eyes.

It was early in the morning, and pale sunlight filtered through the sides of the curtains, casting streaks of bright light to run across the room and illuminating the rest of it. Hugo and Lil were still sleeping.

Closing my eyes again, I asked "What?" My voice thick with drowsiness

"I want to talk to you." He answered simply.

I buried my face deeper into the pillow and brought the duvet up to my chin. "About?"

"Scorpius."

My eyes shot open and fixed on his. His gaze hadn't wavered and his features were moulded into a serious expression. I groaned, "Al... please can we not do thi-"

"Rose, we have to," he began sitting up and turning his whole body to face me. "I know you hate him, but really he isn't so bad."

"Al!" I objected once more, covering my face with my duvet in an attempt to block him out.

"Rose." He replied steadily. "I understand that he's never been very kind to you, but that's because you showed him nothing but disgust from the moment you met him."

He was partially right, I suppose. But that didn't make the conversation or idea of marrying Malfoy any more bearable.

"Please, I don't want to see both my cousin and my best friend unhappy for the next Merlin-knows-how-many years of your life." He said earnestly, and I uncovered my face to look at him. "When you get back to Hogwarts, start fresh."

I didn't respond for a few moments, but eventually I nodded. I wasn't sure if I nodded just to get Al off my back or if I actually intended to do what he said. All I knew was that pretending to be civil with Malfoy would be easier said than done.

He seemed content with my response though, as he smiled and rolled back over in his bed to go back to sleep. Perhaps I could try, for Al. But it wouldn't matter how nice I was to him, I could treat him as if he were my favourite person in the whole world and he would only ever respond with contempt and distaste. That's just who he was as a person, everyone in my family saw it, except Al.

I settled back into my pillow again, groaning internally at the idea of my ready-made future and everything it would involve.

* * *

The following week was the best I had in a long time. So by the time it was getting dark on the last day and we were all standing in the kitchen with our trunks, I didn't want to go.

"Bye Rosie, visit us if you ever want to talk. "She said, holding me tightly and kissing me firmly on my forehead. "I'm sure McGonagall won't mind." I smiled at her, unsure of how true that was, but reassured by her words nevertheless.

I hugged my dad tightly, before pulling away as Dom flooed back to Hogwarts. "See you in the summer," I waved goodbye to my family before grabbing a handful of powder from the dwindling supply on the mantlepiece. I watched as Hugo was engulfed in green flames and disappeared, before climbing into the fireplace and dragging my trunk with me.

"Hogwarts," I half-shouted, before throwing the powder into the fire. The flames flared suddenly and suddenly I was spinning, up, down, all around as glimpses of living rooms and kitchen flashed past my vision. Until, finally, I landed and put my hand up against a rough stone wall to steady myself. My eyes were squeezed shut as I waited for the nausea in my stomach to settle.

It did, eventually, and I opened my eyes to climb out of the fireplace I was still stood. Only to realise I wasn't in Gryffindor tower. In fact, I wasn't sure where I was- it was an empty classroom, but not one I had ever been in before.

Confused, I made my way through the vacant seats and table and opened the door to reveal an equally empty corridor beyond. I headed out, pulling my trunk behind me, and looked around. I didn't recognise the hall, and neither the left nor right gave me any inkling of direction.

I went right, lugging my luggage behind me as my wanderings took me down winding staircases and along narrow passages. I was just beginning to think I was well and truly lost, when I turned a corner and stopped short; face-to-face with the person I least wanted to see.

Malfoy had frozen when he saw me; we stood perhaps three metres apart. His white-blonde hair was scruffier than usual, and his eyes looked tired, only adding to the haggard undertone he was practically radiating.

My breath caught in my throat at the sight of him, I had spent so many nights dreading this moment, and now it had pounced on me and caught me unawares. I had practised speeches in my head, about how we should let the past go and look at each other as new people. But all that dissipated.

Instead, I stood there in silence, watching him watching me.

"Weasley," he greeted me, eventually. His voice was cold and emotionless, showing me quite clearly that our relationship remained as it had been before. We were the same as always, in mutual hate for one another.

"Malfoy," I returned, trying to imitate his tone so he knew my opinion had not wavered where it concerned him either.

He stared at me, with curiosity behind his steely, silver eyes. I felt pinned to the spot under it, unable to move as his gaze bored into me. I returned his stare, putting as much heat and intensity into my gaze as I could.

I shook my head internally, adjusted the grip I held on my trunk and walked purposefully around him, marching down the corridor with my chin up and refusing to look back at him until the very end of the corridor.

I let myself glance shortly over my shoulder then, to see that- curiously- he hadn't moved at all.

I found my way back to the Gryffindor tower eventually, by which time it had been dark out for about an hour. Some of my family was scattered around the common room, chatting. But I decided I wanted to get myself back into the school routine as soon as possible, so I retrieved my school books from the dorm then sat across from Alice, in one of the armchairs in front of the fire.

We didn't talk that much, though I was desperate to ask her about how she felt about marrying Al. I decided it was better not to bring it up, I would eventually. But all I knew is that I would have hated talking about Malfoy in that moment, so I didn't want to bother her.

I lay out a half-finished potions essay on the table, and at the time I promise I had every intention of getting on with my work. But of course, I couldn't. My mind was racing, full of images of my soon-to-be husband and everything I had read in the booklet that suddenly seemed so much more real.

For instance, after we were married I would have to spend at least 7 hours with him every week. That was an hour every day. How would that even happen? Who would instigate it? I was sure his pride would keep him from doing so, and my stubbornness would stop me.

We also had to share a residence within two months? Whatever that meant for people like us, who were still in school. Perhaps us both living in Hogwarts would be a sufficient arrangement to fulfil that particular rule.

Somehow, I doubted it.

Then there was the part about the babies, which I barely even wanted to think about.

"Rose, you ok?" Alice's voice cut through my contemplation, and I dragged my thoughts back into the room. I realised I must have look very dazed, leaning back in my chair, staring into nothingness.

"Yeah, fine," I replied, sending her a smile. She didn't respond for a moment, but made a move as if she was about to speak a few times, then changed her mind. "Spit it out," I quipped at her, chuckling.

"Dom told me about Malfoy." She blurted out abruptly, and I found myself very quickly wishing I hadn't pushed her. "I'm sorry, I know you probably don't want to talk about it, but I had to say something." She looked at me expectantly for a second or two, but when I offered her nothing, she continued. "How are you?"

I thought about it for a moment, it was a harder question than you might think- one that I had struggled with myself, even. Sometimes, I would be sitting at the breakfast table and think 'perhaps this isn't so bad, all it is is a marriage on paper.' Then other times I would wake up in a cold-sweat and it would feel like my life was ending.

I didn't tell her all that though, instead I opened my mouth and answered simply, "just angry, mostly." She nodded, and- much to my relief- didn't ask me any more questions. However, her short-lived interrogation of me meant that I had unspoken permission to do the same to her.

I intended to make full use of it.

"So," I began, grinning. "Al." I tried to lighten the mood. Of course, I knew being forced into a marriage was never something that made someone happy, even if you'd had a crush on them for years.

She blushed bright red and bashfully averted her gaze to the floor. "How upset is Al?" She asked.

"He's not, at all!" I insisted, rushing to comfort my friend. "Of course he's not happy with the marriage law, but he's glad he got you. He knows how lucky he is." She looked up and smiled gratefully.

"I'm glad I got him too." She said, and I raised a suggestive eyebrow at her. "No! Not like that," her face flushed red again, "I just mean, you know, he's a good guy, and..." I sent her a dubious look, "we're friends."

Chuckling softly at her, I returned my attention to the essay sitting on the table in front of me.

It was hours before I eventually sat back in my chair, yawning, and looked at the time, it was coming up to 11 o clock. When I returned my gaze to my essay, I saw that I had only written a single paragraph.

Clearly, my mind was elsewhere.

"I'm going to bed," I told Alice, gathering up my books and getting to my feet. She waved her hand drowsily in acknowledgement from where she had her head on the table. So I turned and made my way to the girl's dorms.

I changed quickly, brushed my teeth, and then collapsed onto my bed. My pursuit of sleep took even longer than usual- because every time I closed my eyes I saw his silver gaze and the coldness that he had held behind them. It would be enough to invoke sleeplessness in anyone.

* * *

Alice woke me up in the morning, half dressed in her uniform and with drooping eyelids. I was confused- disorientated at first. I couldn't understand why she was waking me up so early, and why she was in uniform?

Then I remembered that our little break was over. We were back at school and it was Monday morning.

I groaned and dragged myself out of bed, shivering as the cold air washed over me and longing to just climb back under my duvet and never come out.

But of course, I couldn't, I needed to go to my lessons because I needed to absolutely nail these exams. Probably more so than before. Yes, supposedly being married to a Malfoy meant I would never have to worry about finances again. But, now I knew my future love-life would be shit, I wanted to make sure the rest of what I did was amazing. That included my career.

I changed quickly, in an easy routine after six and a half years of doing it, then me, Dom and Alice headed down to breakfast as the other girls in our dorm lagged behind. The great hall was packed- as usual. I was glad to be back amongst the busy atmosphere and the uncontrollable noise, and I was glad to be back with Alice too, despite all the downsides of school.

We sat down in our usual spots amongst the rest of the Gryffindors. It seemed that no marriage law could dampen our spirits, the whole table was just as alight with life as always. In fact, saying that, the whole room was. I smiled to myself, proud that we had not let this law ruin our lives.

I ate ravenously, having not done so since just before we left The Burrow the night before.

Near the end of breakfast, McGonagall stood up to make an announcement. Her grim face was enough to make us silent, suddenly, I didn't feel glad or proud or hungry.

"7th years," she began, cautiously, I grew tenser at the fact it was only directed towards us. "I know you're already prepared for your classes today, so I'm sorry for the short notice. But there will be no lessons for you today." Perhaps, due to my reputation, I should have been disappointed. But honestly, I was relieved, and glad I would get to spend the day catching up more with Alice.

"This is because there have been some adjustments in your living arrangements."

Oh, Merlin please no.

"As you probably know, the newly instated marriage law requires partners to live together. Whilst you are still in school, you might have thought it wouldn't apply to you." I felt my heart sink. "The Minister for Magic got in contact with me over the break, and we have agreed upon a system which includes all partners sharing a room."

I looked around me, expecting people to jump to their feet in uproar and dismay, but instead, there was silence. No one moved, except for a few who put their head in their hands.

However, whilst people had discarded their voices, the faces of the seventh years in the great hall said everything. Sullen, joyless, morose. Everyone I looked at had the same emotion painted over their features.

"We have converted the entire Western side of the castle, it now contains a room for each pair. Whilst this will mean some classes will have to be taken elsewhere, it should not be too much of an inconvenience to the rest of the school."

Oh, well that's alright then. Wouldn't want to inconvenience the rest of the school, would we?

"As for the seventh years." Her gaze now turned downcast as she cast her eyes over those of us scattered through the room who were subjected to the marriage law. "I know this will be a big change, you will probably feel angry at first. I understand, I'm angry too." The character break shocked me. Up until now she had always played along with the law, never spoken for it, I suppose, but definitely never spoken against it.

"However, this has been decided by the Ministry itself, so we must concede. Today, you will be shown your rooms and allowed to adjust. Tomorrow- it's back to lessons." She dismissed the other years then, and they all trailed out of the Great Hall. Lily gave me a reassuring smile before she left. It did make me feel better, but that weight in my stomach was still there.

I looked over at Lorcan as everyone else left, he seemed to sense mt gaze as he looked up after a moment and smiled, I smiled back. I would have to talk to him today, I had put it off for long enough.

I'm not even sure why I had been avoiding it, but I couldn't anymore.

I turned back to McGonagall when she began to speak again. She told us to go collect our things and go to the third-floor landing. So eventually we followed the rest of the school out of the hall.

I walked with Alice and Dom back to the Gryffindor common room, where we began to repack our trunks. It didn't take long, owing to the fact we had just returned to Hogwarts. I packed the fastest and lay down on my bed once I was done- staring up at the canopy.

I didn't want to leave this room, It had been my home-away-from-home for six and a half years. And the common room- I supposed I could still return to the common room sometimes, but it would be far away from my new room. A long walk, one I doubted I would bother to make very often.

Not only that- I would no longer share a room with Alice and Dom. I might not be anywhere near them.

"I don't want to leave," Dom exclaimed, after buckling up her trunk and sitting down heavily on her bed.

"Neither do I," agreed Jessica as she tossed her clothes into her bag. I would miss her too, and Eva and Denise, even though we had never been especially close. You create a sort of bond with people after you sleep in the same room with them for almost seven years.

We stretched it out for as long as we could, but after fifteen minutes we decided we couldn't plausibly stay any longer. So, reluctantly and miserably, we left the Gryffindor tower together.

 **A/N: I hope you liked it! I'm sorry for the lack of Scorose, but I hope it wasn't too painful to read. Leave a review with your feeback, it's very helpful.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: None of this story is mine and I'm making no profit from it.**

 **Alright! Chapter 4 already. It feels like I posted the first Chapter about yesterday. I have some pretty big exams coming up and my lack of free time is catching up to me. I'll try and stick to my uploading schedule, but I'm really sorry because I can't promise anything.**

 _ **Chapter 4**_

Six names were in polished brass on the door in front of me. There was my name next to his- both of them gleaming bronze in the early sunlight.

Under that were two more names, side-by-side, and under those were two more.

 _'Scorpius Malfoy & Rose Weasley'_

 _'Tyler Zabini & Parvati Chowdbury'_

 _'Lysander Scamander & Jodie Glenister'_

All of the names polished immaculately and gleaming calmly. I wanted to smack them off the door for being so calm and had to take a deep breath to keep my anger in check. I had been told I had a fiery temper. And it was true my emotions easily got out of control.

I pushed through the door and walked into the room beyond. It was a common room, that much was clear on first glance. It was circular, had a roaring fireplace, and armchairs and sofas. I felt instantly calmed- it reminded me of the Gryffindor common room.

There was a different though. The Gryffindor common room's decor was dominated my deep reds and golds, with Gryffindor banners adorning the walls. This room had walls that were... well I couldn't say they had any particular colour they were just sort of... beige. And an array of banners hung from the ceiling; supporting each house.

I looked around to find three doors leading off from this room. I moved towards the first one to get a better look at the metal words adorning it.

 _'Lysander Scamander & Jodie Glenister.'_

I turned away from the door and headed to the next one. Letting my mind now wonder to the people who would be sharing this common room with me. Lysander, Lorcan's twin brother. I did get on with him, but I knew it would mean Lorcan would be coming around here more often.

I supposed the thought should have lifted my spirits. It didn't.

The next door I came to read Parvati and Tyler Zambini. I was friendly with Parvati, she was a Ravenclaw who I had lessons with sometimes. Apparently her mum, Padma, had been in the same year as my parents at school.

Tyler, well, my feelings for Tyler were very similar to my feelings for Malfoy, though perhaps not as potent. I had never had a proper conversation with him, but I had heard things about him, _and_ he was part of Malfoy's group.

I moved onto the final door, lumbering across the common room with my bag in an attempt to stretch out the time. I dreaded going into that room, what if he was in there already? I didn't want to face that.

I stood in front of the door with my eyes squeezed shut and my door on the handle. Until eventually I gathered my courage, sucked in a breath, and pushed through the door with my chin held high.

He wasn't there and neither, it seemed, was his bed. I looked, I really did, I looked in the cupboards; in the bathroom; under the desk; I even searched the single armchair in the room for a button that would magically turn it into his bed.

Nope, it seemed they had only given us one, double bed and had placed it directly in the middle of the cramped room.

Maybe I should have been mad, but instead I just found it incredibly funny, the lengths the ministry would go to force us to like each other were extreme. And, what? They didn't think we could figure out a way to _not_ sleep in the same bed?

I scoffed and picked up a pillow from the bed and tossed it onto the ground, before dropping a blanket I had found in the cupboard over it. He could sleep there.

I fell onto the bed and closed my eyes, sighing. Everything that had happened in the last week, it had created a sort of weight on my shoulders; I suppose it was the same for everyone else. I couldn't even bring myself to study- now I wasn't some sort of freak of nature who found school work fun. But that didn't stop me loving the satisfied feeling I got from having a good revision session, or the kick I got out of acing a test and knowing that all my work had paid off.

The door opened then, and I sat up as Malfoy came in, carrying his trunk along with him. He stopped when he got a few paces in and dropped his bag. There were a few moments of silence, and I wasn't sure how we would go from here. Hate? Civility?

He spoke before I could decide, "What's this?" He asked, pointing at the floor where I had flung his bedding.

"Oh," I replied, mocking a sweet voice, "that's your bed."

He pulled a face, "sod that, I'm sleeping here," he tossed his bag onto the bed next to me and lay down. I jumped up immediately, as if sitting anywhere near him would cause me to catch some sort of horrible disease. It only caused him to look up at me with taunting amusement.

"No, you're not. We can't share it."

"We can."

"No, we can't!"

"Fine, you sleep down there."

"No!"

"Shotgun. There, you see, I called shotgun so now I sleep here."

"You're being childish."

" _I'm being childish_ "

"Yes!"

"I'm not the one acting like such a prude that I can't even sleep in the same bed as a boy." He shot back at me, I took a step back, stung by his comment and frustrated at myself for it. "Or is it because of that Ravenclaw prick?" He asked, malice in his gaze.

I willed myself to be the mature one, I was seventeen now- an adult. I would not let his teasing get to me... if he wanted to act like a toddler causing a fight for no reason then so be it, but I would not succumb to his- "He's not a prick." I replied hotly, then cursed myself for it. I should have kept my mouth shut, or at least just walked out.

I had promised Al I would try- it didn't look like that was going to work out much.

"Ok," he scoffed, rolling his eyes.

I narrowed my eyes in exasperation and threw my hands in the air. He didn't say anything else, and I didn't respond, so I stood there for a moment, stewing silently, before walking out and back into the common room.

Lysander was sitting on an armchair in the middle of the room, and I stopped short. I had half a mind to walk straight back into my room before he turned to see me. I couldn't decide who I would least like to face: Malfoy or Lysander?

Malfoy or Lysander...?

He looked around then, making my decision for me as his gaze locked onto mine. I didn't move for a few moments, stuck like a deer in the head-lights. Eventually, he offered me a lop-sided smile and relaxed further into his chair.

"Alright, Rose?" He asked as I composed myself and made my way over to sit on the sofa across from him.

"Yeah," I exhaled, the lack of meaning in my voice not going unnoticed by him as he smiled and raised an inquisitive eyebrow. I waved his question away.

"So..." He began. I groaned internally, dreading what he was about to say. "Lorcan tells me you haven't talked to him since last Saturday." He kept a note of nonchalance in his voice, but I had a creeping suspicion that the undertone was almost harsh.

"Yeah," I shut my eyes, "I'm sorry... I was going to talk to him today right after breakfast, I really was, but then this happened." I took a breath, pausing. "And I know I should have talked to him earlier... and I suppose I have been sort of avoiding him, but you've got to understand; things are... complicated." I stopped talking and opened my eyes when I felt him sit next to me.

Then his arm was around me, comforting me and I let my head fall onto his shoulder. "It's ok, I get it Rose... and I'm sure he will too." Perhaps it should have been weird; being comforted by my boyfriend's brother. But before he was that, he was my friend.

The door from the corridor flew open then, and two people burst into the room, arms flailing and voices raised at each other.

I recognised them both, Tyler Zabini and Parvati Chowdbury, it seemed their engagement hadn't gotten off to the best start. They were practically screaming at each other as they walked through the common room towards their private dorm.

Neither of them cast a single glance our way, too invested in their argument. They didn't even stop yelling as they pushed through the door and let it swing shut behind them.

I sat up straight and looked to Lysander, stifling a laugh as the shouts continued, slightly muffled now. He replied with an amused laugh and got to his feet. "Well, I suppose I should go settle into my room." He turned to go, before pausing and looking over his shoulder. "I know it's a difficult situation... but please talk to my brother."

I watched as the door swung closed behind him and continued letting my eyes gaze in that general direction long after he had disappeared inside. Eventually, I clambered to my feet. He was right, I couldn't put it off any longer... I mean, I had even ignored his letters over the holidays. I had to explain things.

As I hurried off through the castle, I wracked my brains for a justifiable excuse. I didn't want to use the whole, 'it's a complicated situation,' on him, I wanted to give him a proper answer. Not that it wasn't true- it _was_ a complicated situation- it just wasn't quite sufficient.

I was half-way across the castle towards the Ravenclaw common room before I realised he wouldn't be there. I turned on heel, paused, and furrowed my brow- suddenly confused. How was I supposed to find him? Surely I wouldn't have to look at every door to these new rooms?

I exhaled in frustration and dejection, before setting off back the way I came- I would find him; if I had to search every room in this bloody castle I would find him.

It turns out his name was emblazoned on the front of the fifth door I looked at. I tried to go straight in, I really did, but curiosity got the better of me, and I felt myself glance at the name beside his.

' _Annette Balewa_.'

I recognised the name vaguely... she was probably in a few of my classes, I just couldn't place a face to her yet. I was sure I would recognise her when I saw her. I'm ashamed to say my curiosity only grew as I pushed through the door and walked across the common room to the door with only their names on it.

I knocked... receiving no reply at first, and for a moment I worried that he wasn't even here, that I'd have to trek around the whole castle, searching for him.

Then I heard footsteps, and seconds later the door opened to reveal Annette Balewa.

Wait, _that_ was Annette Balewa? She was stunning, possibly the most stunning girl in our year, boys and girls alike watched her as she went passed, whispers followed her wherever she went. He dark skin make her light eyes look like diamonds. Her hair was braided so perfectly and-

I felt a pang of jealousy and breathed out, shaking my head internally. It was stupid, they had been forced together, I couldn't be jealous and I couldn't let myself grow to resent her.

"Rose?" She asked, and smiled when I nodded, "I'm Annette, nice to meet you," she leant in closer to me, "Lorcan won't shut up about you." Annette told me in an undertone, grinning as she leant back into her original position. I smiled back, but it was only half-hearted. Not because I didn't like her or appreciate what she said, but because...

Well, I'm not quite sure.

"Rose?" Lorcan asked, right before he rounded the corner and came into view. His face lit up and it broke my heart a tiny bit.

I smiled back though and followed him as he walked past Annette and into the common room. We sat down on one of the sofas together.

It was a while before either of us spoke, but I did first, knowing I owed it to him. "I'm sorry-"

"It's fine Rose," he cut me off, turning my way with intense understanding in his eyes. "I understand. We're all going through a strange situation, you more than most since you've been paired with... _him_." His eyes turned darker at the thought of Malfoy, and he turned his face away.

I reached up and turned it back, staring for a moment in wonderment at how a person could ever be so compassionate and just- well- perfect.

I leant up to kiss him and let his mouth meet mine softly. It wasn't the first time we'd kissed, of course, but it almost felt as if it was. It was sweet and gentle a-

"EURGH! GROSS!" We jerked apart at the sudden yell and turned to look at the door, where two people had come in whilst we were... distracted.

"Hugo, Lil?" I began, blushing at Hugo's obvious disgust and the grin that sat on Lily's face. "What are you doing here?"

"We came to visit Al," Hugo explained, revulsion still obvious in his tone as he rubbed his eyes like he was having an allergic reaction to seeing Lorcan and I kissing.

"Well don't you ever knock?" I replied hotly and crossed my arms at the distress in his voice.

"This is a common room, sis, not your private make-out parlour. Forgive me if we don't always know which room you and your boyfriend will be sucking the life out of each other in." Lily hit him on the arm for that, eliciting an 'ow' from Hugo that suggested it was harder than it seemed.

I turned apologetic eyes on Lorcan as Lil and Hugo headed across the room to what I suppose must have been Al's door- I really should have checked who else was in these rooms before I came in.

Lorcan was grinning sheepishly and I couldn't help but smile at his expression. I leant up and pecked him gently on the mouth, before leaning back into the sofa.

We talked for what felt like hours- and probably was. People came and went out of the common room, I saw Al leave once, out of the corner of my eye, but he came back maybe half an hour later. I almost didn't notice him, he was obviously making an attempt to not disturb us.

I was grateful and made a mental note to go see him and Alice later.

Alice walking out of their room and telling us it was lunchtime was what finally broke off our long-winded conversation, my voice felt almost hoarse from talking as I followed my best friend out of the common room, hand-in-hand with Lorcan.

Al ran up to join us about half-way to the great hall, muttering something and still pulling on a jumper. I grinned at him, a warm feeling settling in my stomach now I was surrounded my best friend, my favourite cousin and Lorcan.

He didn't want to leave me when we reached the great hall, but I insisted he should go sit with his brother and the rest of the Ravenclaws, we could talk more later.

"Ok, Rosie." He relented, before leaning down and kissing me on the forehead, I leant into it and had to steady myself as he turned to go to his table. I caught Lysander watching us as I began to turn; he winked.

I grinned back at him, starting over to the Gryffindor table.

I'm not sure why I did it, but as I walked I felt my eyes wander over to the Slytherin table; they were searching for something- I just wasn't quite sure what until I found them. Two liquid silver eyes, watching me like hawks as I moved through the hall.

* * *

I returned to my new common room as late as I could- 8:59 was what my clock read. And I only went back then because I was tired out of my mind. I had retrieved my books after lunch and then studied in the library with Al and Alice since. But now I needed to sleep; I know I know, 9 O clock is not very late, I get it.

But revision is hard and a girl needs her sleep.

The noises started when I was in the hall, faint and discernible, but definitely some sort of noise. They grew instantly louder when I opened the door to the common room, it was the sound of a girl, screaming? Not quite screaming, I suppose. She didn't sound scared.

It was coming from mine and Malfoy's room, I figured out, already marching across the room and stretching my arm out for the handle, determined to find out what was going on.

"I wouldn't go in there if I was you," a voice behind me spoke, I turned around, angered by Zabini's smug tone and ready to shove a retort right back at him when it clicked and I figured out what was going on in there- what Malfoy and some girl were doing.

I jumped away from the door as if it had just burst into flames, almost dropping my books in shock. Zabini chuckled at me and stretched his legs out onto the coffee table in front of him. I turned to narrow my eyes at him, but instead my eyes met with another girl's.

Jodie's eyes were wide and unblinking in a sort of traumatised state at the noises coming from behind the door, her face perfectly reflected the sort of shock I felt inside.

That feeling quickly disintegrated into disgust though, and I went to sit on the sofa next to Jodie and across from Tyler, plopping my books down on the table in front of me.

"She's been like that since they started," Tyler explained tauntingly, referring to Jodie. "I thought she'd been petrified for a moment there, got me a bit worried." The smirk on his face and relaxed note in his voice told me he had definitely not been worried.

"Funny," I replied dryly, opening one of my books and leaning over it, desperately trying to block out the horrendous sounds that were still going strong.

I _felt_ rather than saw him roll his eyes at my sarcasm.

Now before you start thinking I'm a horrible person for being rude, this was Tyler Zabini- one of Malfoy's group and an absolute prat. He had been since first year, we'd never gotten on. Never spoken much, to be fair, but whenever we did it never ended well.

I tried to study, I really did, but ancient runes was near impossible when that racket was going on.

Tyler got up at one point, and banged on the door vehemently, "pipe down would you Scorp?" He yelled over the din, smirking at me when I looked to see if he'd get a response.

"Fuck off," was the shouted reply, but nothing else changed, in fact I think it just got louder.

It was, it was definitely getting louder, and quicker and- "Scorp!" The girl screamed, sending a wave of nausea over me where I sat in my armchair. Then the noises stopped, thank Merlin, and all that could be heard was muffled, yet exaggerated, panting.

Jodie had cleared off by then thankfully, or she might have been scarred for life at the sounds.

I felt resentment boil under my skin, he could have done this somewhere else, he could have done this earlier in the day, or better still, he could have not done it at all. He was mocking me, I could feel it.

I mean, I'm sure there were other reasons too. I'm not going to pretend he was doing it solely to piss me off, that would be placing too high a value on how badly he wanted to annoy me. But I'm sure the intention was there.

A girl came stumbling out of the room a few moments later- Daphne Casterfoote, Slytherin. It was the perfect cliche, her hair tussled and messy and her shirt was buttoned up wrong.

I rolled my eyes in disgust as she hurried out of the common room, giggling, her lipstick smeared and uneven.

I picked up my books and marched straight into my room, refusing to knock and give him the luxury of privacy.

I squeezed my eyes shut as I went in though, I wouldn't suffer seeing anything I didn't want to just because I was too stubborn to give any warning before bursting in.

I heard him snort as I came in, "I'm not naked, Weasley," he drawled. I didn't entirely trust him, but I didn't want to have to stumble around the room blind if there was, indeed, no reason to. So I uncovered my eyes, defiantly.

Thank Merlin, he did have boxers on. I felt relief dart over my face momentarily, before I replaced it with a scowl at his position. He was sprawled lazily across the bed and didn't look likely or willing to move anytime soon.

"That's where I'm sleeping," I told him firmly, dropping my books onto the desk at the far side of the room.

"Okay," he replied, unperturbed as he began sliding off the mattress. "Just a reminder though, I just had very wild sex right here on this very spo-"

"Stop!" I held up a hand to silence him and stared, enraged, at the insufferable smirk on his face. I fumed silently for a few moments, contemplating how bad the punishment would be if I hexed the crap out of him and whether or not it was worth it.

I snatched a pillow and a blanket out of the cupboard, eventually deciding I didn't want a month's worth of detentions for this prat and heading back into the common room.

It was empty, I suppose Tyler had gone now the show was over. I was glad, I didn't want anyone seeing Scorpius Malfoy get the better of me.

I threw the pillow aggressively onto the biggest sofa in the room and lay down on it, curling up under my blanket for warmth.

The material of the sofa underneath me was scratchy and- despite my short stature- my feet hung off the end if I straightened out.

I slept terribly that night, which meant I would be the moodiest version of myself in the morning and there would be one person everyone could thank for that: Scorpius fucking Malfoy.

* * *

I had been right- when morning finally rolled around and I woke up, I was cranky. There was a painful crick in my neck and my feet were freezing. I was still tired too, apparently my sleeping arrangements had barred me from getting any proper sleep.

Even worse, today was our first day back with lessons- that was enough to dampen anyone's spirits.

Reluctantly, I clambered out of my make-shift bed, starting at the chilly morning air and pulling my blanket back around me to shield me from the cold. It was only then that I realised I had slept in my school uniform from the night before.

A groan of frustration escaped me as I began to make my way toward our room. I had taken off my robes the day before and had a spare shirt, but I would have to wear the same jumper and skirt.

I slipped through the door and shut it carefully behind me, anxious not to wake Malfoy. Not because I particularly cared about his sleep, but I really wasn't in the mood for dealing with him right now.

I scooped up robes and dug around in my bag for a fresh shirt and clean underwear. Then I crept silently into our bathroom.

As per usual, I showered quickly, revelling in the warm water and the way it washed away that horrible feeling I always got if I didn't change before I went to sleep.

When I got out, I dressed hurriedly, eager to get far away from the room before Malfoy started to wake up. I scooped my books up from the desk and all but ran out of the room, rushing through the common room too.

I was happy to be one of the first people in the Great Hall that day, I had been planning to do some studying down here and I worked best when I wasn't surrounded by people or noise. I slipped into my usual spot on the Gryffindor table and propped my book up against the water jug whilst pouring myself a bowl of cereal.

That's how I stayed, pouring intently over my book and occasionally spooning mouthfuls of cereal into my mouth. The hall filled up gradually- eventually my family began to trickle in amongst the crowds of students.

"C'mon Rose, you're _studying_?" Dom asked, exasperation evident in her voice as she slid in across from me. "You can take a break you know, no-one's going to blame you with everything that's going on."

"Rose, stop studying?" Hugo joined in, his voice loaded with mock dismay. "She'd rather die!" My book got suddenly snatched from under my nose and I whirled around to face my brother as he sat next to me. I snatched the book back, my fatigue meaning that I had no tolerance for his game.

Alice chose that moment to appear, walking up to the table and stifling a yawn.

"You look tired," I told her as she sat down, referring to her zombie-like movements and the bags under her eyes.

"Yeah," she replied, reaching for the plate of bacon and knocking over a cup of pumpkin juice in the process. "Al kept me up all night."

I choked on my drink and made a sort of spluttering noise, before catching my breath and letting my face slacken into shock as she turned round to look at me.

"Wha-" She began, but cut herself off as something clicked in her brain. "Not like that!" She exclaimed, blushing furiously, "he just... he snores."

I closed my mouth and let myself calm down, shocked at my own reaction to what she had insinuated. I had wanted them together for the longest time, but now the idea was strange to me. I suppose I should have been happy if they had done what I first assumed, at least it would mean they were getting on.

My mind was running wild now, too distracted to study. So instead I talked more with Alice. I told her about what Malfoy had done the night before and somewhere in the middle of the story Dom started to listen to. Suddenly interested by the arrival of gossip.

They tutted and gasped in disapproval in all the right places and I'm not going to lie, it was nice to know there were people on my side, who thought he was just as out of line as I did.

When I got to the bit about me sleeping in the common room on a sofa, Alice jumped in without hesitation.

"If that happens again come and sleep in our bed, I'm sure Al wouldn't mind swapping with you." She told me, sincerity written all across her face.

"Thanks," I smiled gladly at the offer, locking it away in the back of my mind for future reference.

"I would say you could come and sleep in my bed, but you probably wouldn't enjoy that. Besides," Dom began as she flicked her sleek, strawberry blonde hair over her shoulder and winked at us, "me and Byron might be getting up to some... activities."

"Eurgh," I exclaimed as Alice giggled. "Right, well on that note I'm off to charms." I shot Dom a jokingly disgusted look and she laughed wildly, standing to join Alice and I as we started making our way to charms.

I pretended to be disgusted, but in reality- whilst I _really_ didn't need the details- I was glad Dom and Byron were getting on. Even if it was purely physical, it was at least something. I was especially glad because hers was a strange situation- Byron had left Hogwarts last year, but had been forced to come back so he could live with her. It still meant he wouldn't be around much, what with having a full-time job and all.

And Al and Alice were getting along better too, I could tell already.

And then there was Scorpius and I.

* * *

Our first lesson was with Hufflepuffs, and our second was with Ravenclaws, so I sat next to Lorcan.

It was Defense against the Dark arts, which were always practical lessons and so it was easy to have a conversation without being shouted at by a batty old professor.

I was glad to be back talking to Lorcan, he could always make me laugh and easily took my mind off of the crick in my neck and the insufferable blonde who had practically caused it.

That was all torn to shreds though as soon as I walked into the next lesson. It was with the Slytherins and my eyes locked with _his_ as soon as I came in the room.

I looked away immediately, my mood now decidedly foul and the pain in my back from the unfortunate sleeping arrangements feeling my anger towards him.

The dungeons were cold, and Potions was one of my least favourite lessons due to it being with the Slytherins and Alice and Dom having already dropped it.

I sat down, eager to get the lesson over and done with, before setting to work by gathering the ingredients indicated on the board and following the method, all the while ignoring the blonde two rows behind me.

The rest of the day lagged on and I got moodier and moodier every lesson. By the time dinner rolled around, my fatigue and irritability far overwhelmed my hunger, so I decided to go to bed early and skip the meal.

I knew I would probably regret the lack of food in the morning, but right now I was just glad to be returning to our room before Malfoy and therefore getting to sleep in a proper bed.

 **A/N: I know this was a pretty abrupt ending, but the Chapter was jus getting too long. Also, sorry for the lack of Scorose again, there should be more in the next chapter, which will carry straight on from this one.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: None of this story is mine and I'm making no profit from it.**

 **A/N: Alright, here we are: Chapter 5. 25,000 words already, I can't believe it. I've been revising like crazy for my exams next week, it's honestly a wonder this Chapter is out on time, but here you go! I'll try really really hard to update next week, but like I said, I have some (importantish) exams so preparing for those takes priority.**

 _ **Chapter 5**_

When I woke up, the first thing I noticed was the emptiness in my stomach- the next was the strange warmth that was radiating from somewhere on the other side of the bed.

I sank my head further into the pillow, dismissing the sensation before my brain surfaced from the fogginess of sleep and my eyes flew open it panic.

Sure enough, I came face to face with a certain blonde-haired Slytherin.

I made a noise similar to a shriek and jumped out of the bed, taking the duvet with me in my hurry and revealing his practically naked body- if it weren't for his boxers I would probably have had to claw my eyeballs out right there and then.

"What?" He asked without even bothering to open his eyes, his voice hardly sounded sleepy, indicating he had been awake for a while.

"You can't just-" I began, before cutting myself off to throw the duvet back over his overly exposed body.

"Distracting you, was it?" He asked, opening one eye lazily and smirking. He was referring- most likely- to his chest. I would have scoffed in indignation, but as it happened I was still shaken at having spent the whole night in the same bed as him.

"Ugh! You're so... insufferable!" I replied, throwing my arms up in the air in exasperation and resisting the urge to stamp my foot like a kid in a tantrum.

" _I'm_ insufferable?" He asked, incredulously, before scoffing.

I crossed my arms defiantly and narrowed my gaze. "What is that supposed to mean?" I asked, lowering my voice in a tone that I hoped sounded intimidating.

"Nothing," He replied, in a voice that let me know it really wasn't nothing. But he didn't elaborate, instead, he dragged himself lazily out of the bed and began to get dressed.

I scoffed after a while and rolled my eyes. "That's what I thought, Malfoy." I spat, more viciously than I perhaps meant to. "Coward."

He turned to me as he stood, an extremely calm expression on his face, "I'm not being a coward, Weasley. I'm sparing your feelings."

"I don't need you to spare my feelings, Malfoy. I'm not so idiotic to let anything you say affect me. I want to hear what you think of me." I demanded, stepping toward him in my anger.

"No, you don't."

"Yes, I do, tell me Malfoy," I said, taking another step closer to him. "Tell me to my face what your bloody problem is-"

"You're conceited," he burst out suddenly, "You're prejudiced and snobbish and spoilt."

" _I'm_ spoilt? Oh, that's rich coming fro-"

"You're brattish and hypocritical." He walked towards me and kept on speaking as if I hadn't even said anything. I balled my hands into fists at my side, rage swelling in the pit of my stomach. "A prudish know-it-all-"

"I don't know about you, Malfoy," I cut in, my insulted pride causing a red flush to crawl over my face and down my neck. "But to me it sounds like you're describing yourself," I hissed, taking a step forward.

"You think you're just fucking perfect." He replied, disgust twisting his features as he came even closer. He inches from my face now. "The perfect daughter of the perfect war heroes-"

"Well, atleast my parents actually fought on the _right side_ of the war!"

I sucked in a quick breath as soon as I'd said the words, as if I could somehow pull them right out of the air and back down my throat like I'd never said them. But I had and the calm that worked its way over his face all of a sudden told me he had heard it all too clearly and I had obviously hit a sore spot.

I crossed my arms over my chest, as if it could somehow hide me from his stare. I could hardly move, his grey eyes seemed to pin me to the spot. Perhaps, if I wasn't so stubborn I would have said sorry. But I would _never_ apologise to Scorpius Malfoy.

He left quickly, scooping up his bag on the way out and letting the door swing shut with a bang. I stood, frozen, for longer than I should have, before collapsing onto the bed and hiding my face behind my hands.

He had been just as rude to me, I repeated to myself over and over again, he deserved it.

Perhaps it was true, but I had crossed a line. The war- and the Malfoy's involvement of it- was not a topic you got into with Malfoy.

He had a thick skin when it came to insulting him. Even insulting his family name, he would ignore you. I'd seen it countless times.

But his parents' role in the war against Voldemort- that seemed to be off limits. And I knew that. A ball of guilt furled up tightly in my stomach.

He ignored me pointedly that day, but I could pretty much feel the hostility radiating from him whenever I passed by.

When it finally came to the end of the day, I knew I couldn't face him. So instead I went and slept in Dom's room. Byron was away that particular night, thank Merlin.

* * *

Spring bloomed bright and early at Hogwarts, the warming weather causing Scotland to come alive with greenery and wildlife.

Still, my relationship with Malfoy had not improved. He ignored me blatantly and I did the same to him.

I had convinced myself that he had no right to be so angry. He was acting as if he hadn't done anything wrong. Well, if he hadn't said such horrible things to me in the first place, I wouldn't have gotten so riled up and retaliated the way I did.

He brought a girl back to our room occasionally, I had taken to sharing a bed with Alice and Al whenever this happened. Or Dom, whenever Byron was busy with work overnight.

My parents wrote to me often. Almost daily- and the replies were starting to become a tedious part of my school life. I didn't have much to say to them, but I felt like I had a sort of obligation to respond to their letters.

It was a Wednesday afternoon and I was sitting at the desk in my dorm when I finally finished my potions essay and pulled out my parents' most recent letter along with a blank piece of parchment. I set them both down on the table next to each other.

I wrote their names carefully, before poising my quill- ready to write, but no words came to my mind.

I sighed in frustration- it shouldn't have been this hard, all I was doing was writing to mum and dad. But nonetheless, the parchment sat blankly in front of me.

"What's got your wand in a knot?" Malfoy asked from somewhere in the room. In my vexation, I hadn't even heard him come in.

"My parents," I replied simply, feeling tension build in my jaw as I forced myself to reply civilly to the irritating question. Mainly, I was just shocked that he was talking to me.

He snorted, "bet their as thrilled about us getting married as you are." Sarcasm laced his words. I was surprised to hear him talk so casually about our... engagement. It had been a taboo subject ever since- well ever since we got the letters really. Not that we had spoken much anyway, even before the argument.

"About as happy as you parents are, I'm guessing," I replied, hardly managing to keep the sourness out of my voice. I was slightly annoyed that he could insinuate that my parents would be judging him, I mean- he wasn't wrong that they weren't very happy about it. But I knew his would be judging me ten times worse.

"Wouldn't know," he shrugged simply. "They don't write much." I frowned as I looked up from my letter and turned to face him. His parents didn't write much? Not even now? My parents had written me every day, to reassure me about the whole marriage law situation, "But you saw them that week after we got the letters. Didn't they talk to you about it then?" I asked, letting my curiosity overtake my spite for him.

He shook his head, gazing somewhere far off out of the window. "Didn't see them, they were in Japan so I stayed here."

I felt a pang of sympathy for him despite myself. He may have been a prat, but seeing my family the week after the law was introduced was all that kept me sane. He hadn't had that, instead, he'd been alone at Hogwarts, no family- not even Al.

"Couldn't they have apparated back or-" I cut myself off, wary of overstepping a boundary and getting involved in a part of his personal life that he didn't want me involved with. I half expected his eyes to snap back to me, glaring, and then for him to walk out of the room.

But he didn't, instead, he shook his head, "mother said she wanted to come back. But dad had important business out there, apparently. Of course, he was too busy to write to me about it himself." He ended with a sour note in his voice, then seemed to catch himself. He looked back at me, a flash of anger crossing his face so quickly I might have imagined it.

I wasn't sure if he was angry at himself or me. I suppose he was angry at himself for opening up- telling me all of what he just had.

He left quickly. Leaving me to turn back to my letter with a new found sympathy for Scorpius Malfoy.

* * *

Of course, he was back to being a prick by the time evening rolled around. I walked right in on him sitting on the bed with another girl. They were both fully clothed- thank Merlin- and sitting up, but still much closer than I would have been comfortable walking in on.

He was whispering in her ear when I came through the door, and I know he had heard me come in but he took his time. Eventually raising his head from her ear lazily and looking at me through heavy eyelids.

'Care to join us, Weasley?' He taunted. The girl giggled and turned to face me.

I let out a noise of acute frustration and grabbed my pillow and blanket from the chair in the corner.

Another night with Dom for Rose.

* * *

The next day, a sharp tapping at the window in Dom's room woke me from my sleep. At first, I thought I was imagining it... it sounded far off and distant.

It got louder quite suddenly- and more insistent. Eventually even waking Dom from her usually impenetrable slumbering.

"Rose, go kill that fucking owl or I swear to Merlin's saggy right testic-"

"Alright, alright," I practically fell out of the bed in my haste to prevent her from continuing what I'm sure would have become a long string of obscenities.

I all but staggered to the window in my drowsiness and flung it open to admit the snowy white owl that I recognised as Victoire's. It swooped gracefully in and deposited a pile of envelopes on the bed, before eventually settling on the bedside table and cooing proudly.

I rushed over to where Dom was already examining the deliveries. She seemed to have found one with her name on, because she had already ripped open the envelope and tipped out the contents.

I did the same after finding a letter with ' _Rose_ ' carefully spelt out on the front of it in silver ink.

It was a smallish card- lilac, with a hand-written silver message and a few butterflies flitting across the paper every so often. I read it quickly, skimming through the unimportant bits, before looking up at Dom. My own excitement mirrored in the expression on her face.

"Victoire's having a wedding!" She practically squealed, causing the owl in the corner to hoot along.

"I thought they already got married?!" I asked, confusion taking over my initial elation for just a moment.

"I suppose she wants a ceremony," Dom shrugged, already sorting through the rest of the letters on the bed. "You know Vic, she would never _not_ have a proper wedding. She's been planning it since she could talk."

I nodded, grinning as I realised how true that was. "So who else is there an invite for?" I asked, peering at the writing on the cards she was sorting through.

"Well, all the family of course. Lorcan... Lysander... Alice... Frank and- oh." She paused. "And Malfoy."

I frowned, "Malfoy?" Just the mention of his name made me angry... or exasperated. I couldn't quite decide which. "Why would he be invited?"

"Well." Dom shrugged, continuing rifling through the envelopes. "I suppose it makes sense, Teddy's Grandma's sister is Scorpius' grandma."

I frowned, working it out in my brain. Teddy's grandma... Andromeda. Andromeda's sister... Narcissa. Oh. Now I got it.

"Do you... do you think the rest of his family is invited?" I asked, wondering if Victoire would risk that sort of combination at her special day. Weasleys and Malfoys, surely it wouldn't end well.

"I don't know," she shrugged. "You can give this to him," She tossed me Malfoy's invite without even looking up.

"Why me?" I asked, suddenly uncomfortable.

Dom frowned and looked up. "You _do_ share a room with him don't you...?"

"Well... yeah, but..." She knew about my fight with Malfoy. Surely she knew why I was trying to stay out of his way at all costs. But she didn't say anything else, instead, she kept looking for the envelopes until she got to the very end where she found a letter of a slightly different size.

"Who's it for?" I asked, my curiosity piqued.

"Me," she responded, looking up and raising an eyebrow before hurriedly ripping the letter open, snatching the contents from within it and hastily scanning the letter inside.

"Victoire wants to meet us in Hogsmeade during our next trip there." She informed me.

"Who's 'us'."

"Me, you, Lily, Lucy, Al, Louis and Hugo."

"Does it say why?" I asked, picking the letter up once she discarded it on the bed.

"No, but it's probably just to go over plans or something." She shrugged, lying down so she was on her stomach and grinning up at me. "So," she continued. "Where do you think they'll have the ceremony?"

"I'm not sure. Isn't it sort of a tradition now to get married in the Burrow." I copied her and lay down on the bed amidst the invitations that had somehow been strewn everywhere. "That's where just about all of our parents got married, isn't it?"

She nodded. "Yeah, but you know Vic. She wants the best of the best. I mean, I love the Burrow and all... but come on. There are chickens everywhere." She pulled a face, "and mud. And it smells like a farm."

I laughed, suddenly extremely glad it was a Saturday and me and Dom could talk about Vic's wedding properly. "I guess so. Will you not want to get married at the Burrow then?" I asked.

"I'm not sure. Honestly, me and Byron haven't even talked about it." She grinned, rolling onto her back, "We don't do much talking at all." I pulled a face and threw my pillow at her.

"Gross."

"What about you? I guess you'll be getting married at Malfoy Manor?"

A picture was painted, very suddenly and rapidly, in my brain then and my breath caught in my throat. Me and Malfoy. Saying our vows in front of maybe a hundred people. In this stone cold mansion that I had always imagined the manor to be.

"I don't think-" I pushed down the feeling of nausea forcing it's way up my throat. "I don't think I want a ceremony."

"What?!" Dom asked, flipping back onto her front and facing me. "No ceremony? So, what... you just go into a small room and sign a few papers and then go home?" I nodded, receiving a disappointed sigh. "You'll regret it, you know, if you and Malfoy eventually fall in love, one day."

I rolled my eyes at her, "do you even know how ridiculous you sound?"

"I suppose you're right." She conceded, "Malfoy's a prick."

There was a silence for a few moments and Victoire's owl seemed to take it as the perfect opportunity to interrupt. She hopped easily down onto the bed and started nipping Dom's toes.

"Go away," she told it, swiping at it lazily. "I don't have any food! Go away!" Eventually, it stopped, hooted in annoyance and swooped right out of the open window. She rolled her eyes.

"I'm meeting Byron's parents tomorrow," she told me suddenly, her voice so casual that at first I was convinced I'd misheard her.

"What!?" I asked, "Why didn't you tell me?" I asked. She only shrugged, seemingly bemused by my reaction.

"I didn't think it was that important."

"It is!"

"Well don't say that," she told me, a flicker of worry crossing her face. "It'll make me nervous."

I rolled my eyes at her, "what could you possibly have to be nervous about?" I asked, "they'll _love_ you."

"Well, I hope so." She replied. "But they both have successful careers and they got good grades in school and so did Byron and I'm..."

"You're...?" I asked, receiving a withering look from my cousin.

"Well, I'm usually seen as just a ditzy blonde." She replied, shrugging as if it meant nothing, but averting her gaze all the same. "I'm failing all of my classes and everyone expects me to go into a fashion or something, like Vic."

"Dom," I began. I really wasn't sure what to say. Never once had Dom said anything like this to me before. "Dom, you're not just a ditzy blonde, I don't think anyone thinks that! And you aren't failing _all_ your classes. Every time we go and see Hagrid he talks about how amazing you are at Care of Magical Creatures."

She gave me a look that told me she was completely unimpressed by my reassurances. "Rose, _everyone_ does well in Care of Magical Creatures."

"No, I-" I really didn't know what to say.

"Whatever," she interrupted the comforting sentiment I would have eventually dreamed up next. "We should go give these out." She scooped up half of the envelopes on the bed and marched out. Leaving me with yet another thing to feel guilty about.

* * *

I found Lucy and Alice easily and was soon left with only three cards. Lorcan, Al and Malfoy.

I decided to find Al first, then I could give him Malfoy's invite too.

That, however, was a task easier said than done. I trekked up and down countless corridors in search of my cousin. Honestly- I didn't mind because it gave me something to do.

Eventually, I passed by a window and something outside caught my eyes. Upon a second glance, I discovered that it was a figure, circling high above the quidditch pitch, green robes billowing about behind them in the wind.

I cursed myself, sure it was Al and annoyed that I hadn't thought of that. Of course, Al would be out flying, when was he not?

I hurried out of the castle and across the grounds as quick as I would allow myself, until, eventually, I was in the middle of the quidditch pitch. I looked up and noticed, for the first time, that Lily was up there too. They were tossing the quaffle lazily between them. They both looked down and saw me eventually, to which I replied with a small wave.

I beckoned Al down, causing him to toss the quaffle easily back at his sister before making his way leisurely down and landing gently on the ground.

"Here," I told him, thrusting the invites at him. "They're invited to Teddy and Vic's wedding. There's one for you and one for Malfoy."

He raised an eyebrow, "why are you giving me Scorp's? Won't you see him later?"

I scowled, knowing he was pushing towards his best friend on purpose. "Well, I just figured you would see him before then." I replied, keeping my tone light and convincing, "and since I had to give you yours anyway I decided to kill two birds with one stone and-"

"Yeah, you know what- I'm actually kind of busy all day." He said, holding out the invite for me to take back. "I don't think I'll see him." We both knew, just as well as each other, that he was lying.

I snatched the envelope back angrily, before feeling my heart sink at the actual prospect of facing Malfoy. "Please..." I began, feeling in my voice that I was _actually_ begging now.

"Talk to him, Rose." He replied simply, pocketing his own invite and swinging one of his legs over his broom.

Then he was flying back up, away from me.

* * *

I was in a positively foul mood by the time I made it back to my room. I hadn't even bothered trying to find Lorcan and give him his invite- it could wait. Right now all I wanted was to just hide away from everyone and sit in my frustration alone.

But, when I opened the door to the common room, I realised someone had planned something else for me. To be honest, I could say I minded much.

"Rose!" Lorcan greeted me, rising from where he sat alone in the room and coming around towards me.

"Lorcan," I replied, leaning into him as he kissed me on the forehead. "Here you go," I handed him his invite.

"Thanks," he replied, peering at it curiously before putting it in his pocket and returning his attention to me. "You look stressed."

"Nah, I'm fine."

"Ok," he looked dubious as he followed me past the armchairs and into my dorm room. But he didn't press me.

"How's your day been?" I asked, deciding small talk was the best way to go from here.

"Alright," he replied, shrugging. "Annette kicked me out of our room. She's redecorating." He smiled, sitting on the bed and pulling me down next to him.

I looked around my own room. At the bare stone walls and floor, wondering if I could redecorate. It might make this room feel more homely... and it would probably piss Malfoy off if I didn't ask him first, which would be an added bonus.

"Sounds... time-consuming." I decided aloud, lying down and breathing out a long breath of exhaustion.

"That's what I thought," he agreed, lying next to me. "Although, I've always quite liked the idea of having my own home. Making it look however I want."

"Me too."

"It was always with you though."

I turned to lie on my side and face him. "Huh?"

He mirrored my movements so that we were face to face, "It was always with you that I imagined that. You know, buying a new house..."

I closed my eyes under the pretence of tiredness. Really, I just wanted to hide the emotion that I knew was swelling up in them. I hadn't expected the conversation to take this turn.

"It would have a big garden," he continued, "like the burrow."

"A forest nearby," I added, losing myself to the picture he was painting.

"A frog pond."

"A library."

"An apple tree."

"And maybe a chicken or two."

He laughed softly, reaching up and stroking a strand of hair behind my ear. The action pulled his shirt up, and my eyes flitted down to the strip of bare skin that had been exposed.

"I've always wanted to know how you got that scar," I told him, my fingers tracing the faint white line that ran from his belly button to his rib.

"Lysander through a gnome at me when we were five." He chuckled, "that gnome sure did have sharp nails."

I winced, feeling his pain and lightening my touch, suddenly conscious of not hurting him.

"It stopped being painful a long time ago," he told me, reassuringly.

Then, he leant in and kissed me. I arched into it, letting my hand travel further up his shirt. It felt more intimate, much more intimate than anything we'd ever done before. It was only kissing, but something about that fact that we were on a bed made it feel as if we were crossing into some foreign territory in our relationship.

I deepened the kiss, glad that I would be entering this unknown terrain with him and no one else. His hand found my waist and I let my unoccupied arm snake around his neck and-

The door was flung open with a slightly louder than usual bang. We sprung apart, sitting up and turning to face the intruder, flustered and panting.

Malfoy stood there, a look of contempt on his face. He didn't move or say anything for a few seconds. Before eventually, he looked directly at Lorcan.

"Get out," he told him. His voice was emotionless and cold. If I was Lorcan, I might have run out of the room right away, apologising profusely and praying to Merlin he didn't hex me on my way out.

But as it happened, Lorcan just stood up, puffing his chest out. "No," he began, "this is Rose's room as much as it is you-"

"I _said_ ," Malfoy interrupted, "get out." He didn't threaten him or anything, but his hand went, quite intentionally, to curl around something in his pocket.

"Go," I got up, practically pushing Lorcan towards of the door, not wanting to see him hexed into next week. "I'll see you later."

He gave me a look that, without a doubt said: 'are you sure.' I nodded and his gaze moved from me to Malfoy, and back to me again. Before eventually he offered me a forced smile, kissed me quickly on my head, and left the room.

There was silence for a few moments, neither of us moved until I was sure Lorcan was properly gone. I knew if he heard shouting he would come running back in here.

"What. The. _Fuck_. Was that, Malfoy?" I asked, whirling around to face him, a fire crackling dangerously behind my eyes.

He sneered, "pest control." Was the simple reply I received.

"Oh," I laughed humourlessly, forcing as much malice into my voice as possible. " _Pest_ control? You have _no right_ to do that. Your parade girl after girl through this room and I bring back ONE boy, who is, by the way, my actual boyfriend!"

He didn't reply.

"You make me sick, Malfoy," I told him as I fished the remaining invitation out of my pocket. I thrust it into his chest as hard as I could as I pushed past him and out of the room, making sure to slam the door on my way out.

* * *

I went to the library. It was the only place I could think of. I could have gone after Lorcan, but honestly, I was worried that, with nowhere else to go, my anger would be channelled onto him.

Alone in the library, I could project my rage into my work. It was a very effective way of studying, actually. I sat for hours- missed lunch. But not even my complaining stomach could sway me.

I got through pages and pages before I eventually sat back, satisfied with my progress, and noticed the darkening sky. I checked my watch, 7:45. I was already half an hour late to dinner.

I practically ran to the Great Hall, starving and desperate to get there before they took the plates away. I didn't much feel like a trek down to the kitchens tonight.

The room was still full of people and, to my great delight food. I slipped into my usual space, grabbing a sausage from Hugo's plate whilst he was talking to Lilly and shoving it right in my mouth.

My eyes travelled to the Slytherin table... I couldn't help it. It was as if they were drawn by some magnetic force. I tried to pull them away, knowing the sight of his face would just annoy me, but I couldn't.

But he wasn't there, he wasn't anywhere on the table.

I frowned, allowing myself a moment of confusion before pushing it down. He could have been half way across the world for all I cared

 **A/N: Right so the first argument scene in this Chapter was actually really difficult to write, not gonna lie I thought it would stop me updating on time. So shoutout to Bourbon and Chocolate for the amazing help! Like I said, I'll try update for next week, but I have exams so I can't promise anything. Like always, reviews are greatly appreciated! Who do you think was in the wrong in the argument?**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: None of this story is mine and I'm making no profit from it.**

 **A/N: Sorry it took two weeks! I had exams and they were brutal and the teachers were all mean and stuff and yeah. But here you go! There a thousand extra words this week because I was late so here you go!**

 _ **Chapter 6**_

Malfoy wasn't in our room when I woke up. ' _Good_ ,' I thought to myself. ' _Maybe he's finally learnt how to be a decent human being_.' I changed slowly, taking my time and enjoying having a room to myself.

I headed out to the Common room in good spirit. Eager to see him asleep on the couch, head lolling over the edge and covered by nothing but a thin sheet. Getting a taste of his own medicine for a change.

But he wasn't there either.

Odd. Malfoy wasn't one to wake up early... especially not on a Sunday. Well, maybe the sofa had been too uncomfortable for a lie in. I know it sounds like I was desperately searching for him, but- well... I suppose I was looking for him. I'm not sure why. Spite, perhaps. I wanted to know that he'd at least slept badly. That would be some sort of retribution.

He wasn't in the Great Hall.

I'm not going to lie, I was disappointed. But only because that meant he had probably spent last night with some girl. In a comfortable bed. He wasn't paying for being a dick at all, he was just going about his life. Having a pretty great time too, by the looks of it.

Nana Molly always used to tell us that mean people would get what was coming to them. Well, I hoped what was coming to Malfoy hurried itself up because I was starting to think she was wrong.

I clucked my tongue in annoyance as I took my place on the Gryffindor table. Well, at least there was one thing I could rely on to cheer me up- Hogwarts' food.

"What's wrong?" Al asked from across from me. I jumped, not having noticed him as I sat down.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, my eyes flicking to his usual spot on the Slytherin table.

"Scorp isn't here, so I thought I'd sit with my family." He flung and arm around Dom, who was the only other one of us who'd arrived at breakfast yet.

"Yeah, okay," Dom rolled her eyes, teasingly. "We all know why you're really here, Al." She raised her eyebrows pointedly towards the entrance to the great hall, where Alice had just walked in.

Al went slightly red and grinned, but didn't do anything to disparage Dom. So she turned back to her cereal, "Where's Malfoy anyway?" She asked, ignoring the look Al gave her for not referring to his best friend by his first name.

"His grandma was rushed to St Mungo's. They think it's serious so the whole family has gone to visit her just in case... you know."

Oh.

That's all I could think. Oh.

It was as if someone had taken all my anger towards Malfoy and twisted it upside down. "When was this?" I asked, my voice surprisingly small.

"Yesterday, an hour or two before lunch." He replied, shrugging. "Why?" I didn't look up, not wanting to meet his confused gaze.

I just shook my head, knowing my voice would give away the guilt and unease that was already furrowing my brow and twisting my stomach into knots.

So, he had known, when he walked in on me and Lorcan. In fact, he'd probably just found out. Oh, Merlin and-

Still, he shouldn't have said what he said. But people do mean things sometimes when they're upset, I knew that. I knew it _extremely_ well.

No. I would not condone his behaviour. He was hypocritical and snobbish. Yes, a sad thing was happening to him currently, but that didn't make him a better person. I tried to force my guilt back down into some place where I could ignore that it even existed. But it wouldn't go.

I pushed my plate away, no longer hungry. I wasn't sure why this affected me so much. I hadn't really done anything to him yesterday, but responded to his hypocrisy.

Yet suddenly, I felt terrible. Perhaps it was because it was his Grandma. If anything ever happened to Nana Molly, well, I would be inconsolable.

I got up to leave, earning a few puzzled glances from my present family, before walking swiftly out of the hall.

"Rose!" I turned on the staircase to see Al practically sprinting towards me. "Rose, wait."

I raised an eyebrow as he eventually got to me, ready to deny and lie my way out of this situation. But as soon as his eyes met mine I averted my gaze. I couldn't deceive Al. I could never. And even if I managed to force false words out of my mouth, he would see right through me.

"Why did you leave?" He asked, "Because of Scorp?" I nodded, keeping stare fixed stubbornly on one of the many stone statues adorning the entrance hall's walls. One of them was missing an arm... that was strange.

"What happened?" He continued, clearly choosing to ignore my reluctance to talk.

"We argued... sort of," I replied, weighing up in my brain whether our interaction the day before could be classified as an argument. I had been over so quickly.

"And, now you feel bad... because his grandma's in hospital?" I frowned, it sounded shallow when he said it like that. But, well, he was right.

I nodded again.

"Well, you could come to the hospital with me. I'm going to visit them later, take some food. You could come." He suggested. My eyes snapped back to his, I felt the panic rising in them.

"Are you crazy? Meet his parents in such a- such a fragile situation and- Oh Merlin. I could never, they..." I trailed off, feeling my heart-rate quicken with the very idea.

"You don't want to meet his parents?" He asked, frowning.

"Of course not! He's probably told them horrible things about me!" I shoved my hands in my pockets and rubbed my wand between my fingers for something to do. "They probably hate me, it would probably only upset them further to see me I-"

"Rose," he put his hands on my shoulders and called me back to earth. "Calm down, he hasn't told them anything bad about you. Let's just go, ok? I'll be there and you'll feel less guilty afterwards, won't you?"

"No really, I can't-"

"Stop being so stubborn! Be the bigger man, make the first move, who know. It could lead to friendship, at least."

Eventually, after running every possible way I could get out of this situation through my head, I nodded. A grin of satisfaction spread across his face and he stepped back. "Great." He decided, already walking off, away from me. "Well, I'm going to go get some food from the kitchens, meet me back here in 20 minutes. Don't be late!"

I stood, almost not believing what I had just let myself be talked into. Meeting Malfoy's parents for the first time as they visited his very ill grandmother. Merlin, what would they think of me? Should I even care? Dad had always told me Draco Malfoy was a terrible person, but Uncle Harry and Albus seemed to disagree.

I paused, thinking for a moment longer, before breaking off into an almost run towards my dormitory. Despite myself, I was not prepared to meet the Malfoy's looking like I did currently.

When I finally got back to the dorm I dug through my trunk, searching desperately for something slightly more presentable. I changed hurriedly, before casting an anti-frizzing spell over my untameable curls. It wouldn't last long, so usually, I wouldn't bother. But today was different.

* * *

I was back in the entrance hall twenty-five minutes later, slightly out of breath and flushed from running. Al was already there. When he caught sight of me he tutted audibly and looked pointedly at his watch.

"Sorry," I began, between breaths. "But, to be fair, I'm not that late-"

"No time!" He interrupted, already pulling me over to the fireplace. I looked up, bemused, to notice the excitement in his bright green eyes.

I shook my head, sort of loving the way Al loved Malfoy, even if I could never understand why. "You saw him yesterday, you know," I told him, hiding the grin I was suppressing at his elation. "You're acting like you're about to meet your long lost brother."

"That's not why I'm excited." He told me, vaguely, before pressing some floo powder into my hand and practically pushing me into the fireplace. I rolled my eyes dramatically.

"St. Mungos," I stated, firmly, there was a seconds delay, before the fire flared up around me, and some unseen force was pulling me through chimney after chimney at what must have practically been the speed of bloody sound.

Seconds later, I was stumbling out into St Mungo's reception, panting and slightly dishevelled, reminding myself exactly why I hated travelling by floo powder. I breathed in deeply, catching my own reflection in a window.

Well, so much for trying to make my hair look presentable. For Merlin's sake, I couldn't wait until we were taught how to apparate.

Al stumbled in just moments after me and grinned at my flustered state. I rolled my eyes at him, annoyed that he looked utterly composed. I mean, sure, his hair was a mess. But his hair was always a mess.

"Let's go," he told me, beginning to walk towards the front desk. The lady told us where Narcissa was and we set off straight away. I followed my cousin the whole way, through corridors and past full rooms and one man who was rushed past us on a stretcher with enormous ears where his feet should have been.

Eventually, we rounded a corner... and there it was. The heart ward, at the end of the corridor. That was where the lady had told us to go.

I stopped short, my heart suddenly racing. I had never met the Malfoys before. I had heard some horrible things. Most of it was from silly Gryffindor girls who wore their hair in pigtails and spoke more nonsense than Professor Trelawney.

I didn't believe a word they said about the Malfoys, they hadn't been in the war.

But that didn't mean they weren't formidable figures. Wealthy beyond imagination and both high-ranking in the Ministry. I was less worried about their part in supporting Voldemort and more about whether or not they were warm people.

Would they be happy to see me, or at least act like it? Would they turn their noses up at me? What if they didn't react at all?

I suppose it was a cruel twist on the famous, 'meeting your boyfriend's parents for the first time', nerves.

Al swung around, confusion dancing over his face when he saw me standing still in the middle of the hallway. I must have looked pale or something, because the confusion was quickly replaced by concern.

"What's wrong?" My cousin asked, walking back towards me.

I shook my head, waving away his concern. "Nerves," I explained simply.

Al cocked his head to the side, amusement playing on his lips, his eyes were already a light and teasing. "You're nervous to meet Scorp's parents?" He asked, not even bothering to conceal the grin that now spread proudly over his face.

I rolled my eyes, pushing past him in mock annoyance, causing him to chuckle. He fell easily into step beside me. "You don't have to be nervous." He told me, "Astoria really is very nice. Draco's a bit sullen, but he's not a monster."

"But what if they _hate_ me," I retorted.

"And since when do you care what they think? I thought you hated the Malfoys."

"I hate Malfoy _Junior_ ," I replied, "I've never even met his parents."

He tutted. "Really, you have to say Malfoy Junior? he does have a first name you know, _Weasley_." He added emphasis on his pointed use of my last name.

"Yes, I'm aware, _Potter_. But I'll never use it." I grinned at him as he reached forward to open the door to the heart ward waiting room.

As soon as the door opened, a chill settled over me. The grin slipped off my face, being replaced by a sombre look. I'm not sure what it was, the mood in the air, I suppose. Death hung over the ward, as grim as that sounds. It felt wrong to smile in a place like this.

I might not have noticed them if Al hadn't started walking towards the far corner of the room. I'm not sure what I was expecting. For them to be standing right in the middle of the room in a spotlight with paid dancers twirling about them?

But I was still shocked when my eyes eventually found them. They were sitting in the corner of the room- Draco wasn't there, but Malfoy and Astoria were. They just seemed so... small. And I don't mean physically. They were both right next to each other, taking up a total of two chairs in the corner. Beside them was a door, supposedly leading to Narcissa's room. Perhaps Draco was in there.

Malfoy and his mum were slumped in their seats, no extravagant clothes or hairstyles or anything.

For some reason, it really wasn't what I had imagined.

As we walked closer, I noticed that they both had bloodshot eyes. I doubt either of them had slept a wink the night before.

Astoria noticed us first, rising from her chair and hugged Al as he greeted her. "My dears," she began, he voice sounded frail and hoarse. I tried my best at a smile despite the grim setting as she moved onto embrace me next, "how lovely of you to visit." She smelled of faded vanilla and... something that smelled oddly like elderflower.

"It was no problem," I replied as Al clapped Malfoy on the back. "It's very nice to meet you, Mrs Malfoy." I hated how stiff and awkward I sounded, I was never good at meeting new people. Let alone when it was my despised fiancee's mother.

"Oh, call me Astoria dear." She told me, swatting away my formalities with a graceful wave of her hand. "Besides, it might get a confusing calling me Mrs Malfoy, since that'll be your name soon too."

The silence fell thick between the four of us, I could feel the blood drain from my face. Risking a quick glance at Malfoy, I saw that his gaze was fixed on somewhere in the distance, his jaw tight.

"Oh," Astoria spoke softly, putting a hand on my arm. "I'm sorry dear, I don't think before I speak. It's been a long night, you see." I smiled at her genuine apology.

"That's okay, Mrs Ma- Astoria," I reassured her.

"Besides," she continued, as the tension left the room. "You might keep your name, mightn't you?" She spoke with interest, "that's what you mother did, dear, didn't she?"

"Yeah," I nodded.

"Hermione Granger... I can't wait to meet her," her eyes lit up with something very similar to wonder. "She's a bit of a legend among my generation you see. And your dad, of course."

"Yeah, he's a bit underwhelming in real life though," Al joked, earning him an amused look. "I mean, he supports the Chudley Cannons, the man's a lunatic!"

I shoved him playfully, "Hey! I support the Chudley Cannons." My voice was filled with mock offence.

"You only prove my point further," Al replied, grinning cheekily.

I rolled my eyes and turned back to Astoria, to see that she was watching our exchange with a twinkle in her eye. "Is there anything I can get for you Astoria?" I asked, desperate to make a good impression. "a newspaper or...?"

"Yes, come to think of it I've been _itching_ to get my hands on today's Daily Prophet, you wouldn't mind fetching one would you dear? I'd go myself, but..."

I nodded, "Of course, anything else?"

"No dear, just a Prophet, that would be wonderful. There should be one in reception," I sighed a breath of relief internally, glad to be leaving this situation. Astoria was lovely, but that only slightly helped how uncomfortable I felt.

I turned to go, eager to get out and somewhere on my own, when she spoke again. "Scor, why don't you go with her?"

I wanted to crawl into a hole and die. So much for getting out of this uncomfortable situation. I turned back around, forcing a smile onto my face as I waited for Malfoy's reaction.

"Sure," he replied nonchalantly, shrugging. He was clearly making an effort to not upset his mother.

We walking together out of the room and back into the corridor. Out of the frying pan and into the fire.

He didn't say a word to me, but I knew he could have done. Malfoy had always been charismatic and I don't think I'd never seen him look awkward in his life. Even now, as I snuck a glance at him, I could tell he was extremely unbothered by the situation.

I, however, was a different story. Making conversation had always been hard for me, let alone with someone utterly despised. Perhaps it shouldn't have bothered me that we weren't talking.

We walked in silence until I could bare it no longer. "You look tired." I blurted out, then squeezed my eyes shut in shame at my incompetence. You look tired? Really Rose? Merin, was that really the only thing I could come up with?

"Didn't sleep," he replied, making no effort towards conversation.

"Well, no. I suppose not," I continued. "Um-" I began, then caught myself, careful not to cross a line and get too involved. "So, how is she?"

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. Glancing up, I caught sight of the worry lines forming on his forehead. "Not good," there was a note to his voice that I had never heard before.

I searched desperately for something to say back. Something comforting, perhaps? But I was no good at that. "I'm sorry," I replied eventually. Then, not wanting that to us to slip into silence once more, I scrambled for something else. "Does... does your grandma live with you?"

"Yeah," he replied. "It's her house technically, since Lucius is in Azkaban and all." I frowned, surprised.

I wasn't surprised that Lucius Malfoy was in Azkaban, that was common knowledge amongst the wizarding community. No, what shocked me more was that Malfoy called him Lucius. Instead of Grandpa, or Granddad. I suppose it made sense, from what I'd hear the most senior Malfoy wasn't an all-around lovable guy.

"Does he know? That your grandma is ill?" I asked, then chewed my lip when he didn't answer for a moment. Perhaps the question had been a little too prying.

"Yeah," he answered finally. "They're letting him come see her today- with guards. Of course."

My heart rate increased with a sense of fear that I knew was irrational. I'd probably be gone by the time Lucius Malfoy came anywhere near St. Mungoes. Even if I wasn't- he was surrounded by guards.

Besides, the rumours about him that I'd heard through classmates and corrupt newspaper articles were probably widely exaggerated and or even completely untrue.

That didn't slow my thumping heart though.

I scooped up a Daily Prophet once we reached reception, before turning to walk back when something stopped me in my tracks. In fact, some _one_.

"Alice?" I stepped towards my friend, noticing the way she had tried to turn away before I recognised her.

"Hey, Rose." She replied, forcing a smile.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, "is everything ok?"

"Yeah, fine. I'm here with my family."

"Is something wrong?"

"No," she replied, her eyes looking everywhere but directly into mine and her feet shifting nervously.

I almost wanted to stay and get the truth out of her, but I could tell she didn't want to tell me. If she ever wanted to, I would be there to listen. But today, I didn't push it. "Ok," I replied.

She turned to go, but seemed then to have a change of heart, turning around and coming a step or two closer to me. "We're just visiting my grandparents," she admitted in a lower voice than before, "but don't tell anyone, alright?"

"Of course," I nodded firmly, seemingly relaxing her somewhat. She moved her gaze to focus on something behind me. "Al told me he was gonna try and get you to visit Malfoy." She grinned, "how's it going?"

"Alright," I replied, "his mum's really nice."

"That's good. Well, I don't want to keep you from your fiancee," she winked, to which I responded by rolling my eyes.

"See you later Alice," I called as she turned and walked away.

"See you."

I turned back to Malfoy and we headed back to Al and Astoria, the Prophet tucked safely into my arm.

I hardly noticed that lack of conversation that passed between us on the way back. Instead, I was deep in thought- furrowed brow and everything.

Alice's grandparents. She'd never mentioned them before and- well and I'd always just assumed they had died before she was born. But no, they were alive and in St. Mungoes.

I didn't want to think about it too hard, or figure out what it meant, because it felt like I was snooping on a part of Alice's life that she didn't want me involved in. But, at the same time, I couldn't stop the way my brain ran over it again and again.

"Why was Longbottom here?" Malfoy asked eventually, his face and expression bored.

I jerked out of my thoughts, "I'm not sure." I replied, biting my tongue to stop myself from continuing with, _'and it's none of your business.'_ He didn't really deserve it, he was just making conversation. But something about the way he said her surname frayed on my nerves.

"She didn't look confused to see you here with me?"

"No, Al told her he'd try and convince me to come."

There were voices coming from within the room when we got back. Five or six voices I didn't recognise. I frowned, reaching for the handle in curiosity, but Malfoy practically slammed his hand into the door just as I tried to tug it open.

"Wha-" I began, but I felt silent when I turned to face him. His expression was grave, and he was looking at the door as if it would burst open at any moments and the hounds of hell would be on the other side.

"You should go." He told me, keeping his eyes fixed on the door as if he could somehow see through it.

I crossed my arms, stubbornly. "Why?" I asked, slightly perturbed, but mainly genuinely curious.

"My grandfather is in there."

I let my arms fall to my sides, a soft, "oh," escaping my lips. I stepped gingerly away from the door. "How do you know?"

"Those are his guards. The voices in there." He sighed, tugging a hand through his hair again. "He... I doubt he'd be happy to see you here."

"Right." I composed myself. "I'll be off then," I spoke as casually as I could. "Give this to your mum," I held out the newspaper for him to take.

He didn't say anything as he took it from me, his eyes already back on the door. He looked as if he'd rather fight a dragon than open it.

I opened my mouth to speak, then shut it again, rather foolishly. Before turning on heel and walking off back down the hall.

* * *

He wasn't in school most of the following week. I'm surprised I even noticed he was missing to be honest, with the way I threw myself into my studies. By the time Saturday came around and I stumbled- exhausted- down to breakfast I was surprised anyone I knew even remembered my name.

"And the cave-dweller appears!" Dom announced as I sat down at the table.

I rolled my eyes at her, reaching for the pumpkin juice as Alice sat down to my right.

"Oh, Rose, you're back." She noticed, "I feel like I haven't seen you in ages."

"You saw me in every lesson this week," I retorted, exasperated. True, I had been skipping most meals and getting my own food from the house elves whenever I could ignore the growling in my stomach no more. But studying was important. N.E. were at the end of this year and I would _not_ be unprepared.

"Yeah, but that doesn't count." She replied, matter-of-factly.

"Rose isn't the only one who's back," Lily added, nodding her head towards the Slytherin table as she shoved another spoonful of cereal into her mouth.

We followed her indication, to find a certain blonde haired Slytherin seated at his usual place next to Al. My stomach clenched and I bit my lip. He was back- that meant Narcissa was better or...

I shook my head, ridding myself of the thought. I couldn't assume the worst.

"Alright guys," Louis sidled up to the table with Lucy. "We should go," he announced.

She frowned, looking around at her family as they murmured in agreement and began to stand from the table. "Go?" I asked, "go where?"

Dom rolled at me, "it's a Hogsmeade weekend." She told me.

I shook my head and raised my eyebrows, urging her to explain further.

" _Really_ , Rose?" She rolled her eyes, "we're meeting Vic today in the Three Broomsticks. I've only been talking about it _all week_."

The memory clicked in my brain. "Oh..." I sighed, my plans of relaxed study in the library flying out of the window. My stomach rumbled, reminding me I hadn't eaten yet.

I grabbed a slice of toast, ramming it into my mouth as my cousins and brother began walking out of the hall.

* * *

Hogsmeade was swarming with Hogwarts students, but luckily most of them had flocked first to Honeydukes or Zonkos, or the Weasley's Wizard Wheezes Hogsmeade branch.

We still had to squeeze our way through the Three Broomsticks and crowd around a far too small table in the corner of the room.

The bell that hung over the door jangled a few moments later as Dom and Hugo went to get butterbeer for us. We craned our necks, looking over the crowd to see if the new arrival was Vic.

Moments late, someone pushed through the crowd and was revealed, as if by a parting curtain of people, to be Molly.

"Mol!" Lucy jumped up, swinging her arms around her sister. We all rose, hugging awkwardly from over table and chairs because of the lack of space.

She sat down- an action that, when Dom and Hugo returned, meant Louis had to go fetch more chairs for them.

"Molly!" Dom exclaimed as she set the drinks on the table and stepped back to let us scrabble over them. "I didn't know you were coming?"

"Yeah," Molly nodded along with her words, "Vic told all of us to meet here."

"And by all, you mean...?" Lily chimed in.

"You guys, Fred, James, Roxanne and I. Oh, and I think Teddy and Aunt Fleur are coming too."

Dom looked around the table, wincing dramatically as she saw the problem. "We're gonna need a bigger table."

* * *

Half an hour later and everyone had arrived, including Al who had stayed behind at the castle when we'd first left for Hogsmeade.

Now, we were all squeezed into the ridiculously tight space, with no more chairs to steal from the surrounding tables as the pub had filled up with Hogwarts students too- tired of parading around sweet shops and joke shops.

Vic was seated on Teddy's lap, but I don't think either of them minded. Both of them were still gripped in the infatuation that I was told came with the early stages of marriage.

Of course, I thought bitterly, the early stages of _my_ marriage would be slightly different.

Lucy was sitting on her sister's lap and Fred, James, Roxy and Lily were all in one precarious tower on top of one another.

I was half sitting on Al, too, but he didn't mind.

We had created quite a stir in the crowded pub. Not only would so may people squeezed into so little space have been an odd sight on its own, but withing our group were the 'famous' children of all the Golden Trio. Most of the older Hogwarts students had gotten used the seeing us all together, crowded around the Gryffindor table or the common room fire. But for the first and second years, this was probably the first time they had ever seen a few of my older cousins in the flesh.

A group of first years glanced over, directly at us, awestruck looks on their faces. I smiled warmly, but when they turned away I felt a blush crawl over my face. I hated this kind of attention. Around my parents I understood it. But what had I ever done to deserve their admiration?

On top of the whole Weasley/Potter thing going one, Fleur, Vic, Dom and Louis all in the same place would always attract attention.

Dom and her brother and sister were only an eighth veela and their magical 'alure'- as Dom called it- was hardly noticeable when around just one of them. But all together, and with Aunt Fleur who was a quarter veela, it really became the source of distraction for many eyes in the pub.

"So," Fleur began once we had all settled down and the teetering pile of cousins beside me had stopped wobbling. I snapped to attention at her voice, and noticed the signs of stress and frustration on her face that, honestly, I would have expected from the bride.

But Vic seemed to be in an almost euphoric state as she giggled at something Teddy said and then turned to whisper something in his ear.

"I will try not to keep you very long dears," the mother of the bride continued. "We just wanted to let you know that-"

"Wait," Vic put a hand on her mother's arms as she interrupted. "I want to say this bit."

Aunt Fleur nodded and all of our attentions turned to Vic. She looked around the table slowly. Deliberately making the tension build. I refrained from rolling my eyes in amusement. Vic had always been one for the theatrics.

"I," she shared a look with Teddy, before grinning widely back at us, "would like you all to be my bridesmaids!"

A cheer went up around the table. Probably for the fact that she had eventually told us, instead of for the actual news itself. I grinned to myself from my spot wedged between Al and James, a warm feeling spreading through me at the idea of being Vic's bridesmaid.

"Oh, goody!" Fred called out.

"What colour are our dresses?!" James chimed in, clapping his hands in excitement. An action that made the tower of people sitting on him wobble. Lily, who was seated treacherously at the top, squawked.

Vic shot them a light-hearted look and rolled her eyes in mock annoyance. "Not you. You boys will be Teddy's groomsmen."

James grinned wickedly at the news and looked to Teddy, "does that mean I'm invited to the stag-do?" He asked. Teddy returned with an equally mischevious grin.

"Of course." He confirmed.

"But," Vic interrupted, evidently worried by the look on her husband's face. "Nothing too crazy, ok? Just... don't get too drunk or anything." She said, looking around at the boys at the table.

"Oh, no." James agreed, still grinning hugely.

"Wouldn't dream of it," Fred said, wearing an identical look.

Vic still looked dubious, but shrugged, "It's ok, you'd have Hugo and Louis with you. They're under the drinking age."

Hugo and Louis nodded sagely, as if they would never dream of breaking that law. I rolled my eyes internally.

"Anyway, we must continue with plans." Fleur began once more, "for the bridesmaids, there will be dress fitting next Saturday- we shall meet in that lovely little dress shop in Diagon Alley, you know the one? The dressed will be... well we haven't decided the colour yet, actually. You know, one colour that suits blondes _and_ about five different shades of ginger is very hard to find..."

I zoned out, letting my mind wonder. I knew Dom would fill me in very extensively on the details over the next week. She was listening intently, no surprise there.

It wasn't very long, only ten minutes or so, before Vic, Teddy and Aunt Fleur stood up to leave. I dragged myself out of my daydreaming and stood to say my goodbyes.

"Oh, I almost forgot to tell you all." Fleur continued, as she hugged Louis. "There's a dinner at the Burrow tomorrow. McGonagall has already approved it, so you guys are allowed to come." I squeezed her tightly when it was my turn. "Oh, and Molly wants to meet all the new additions to our family, so, bring your fiancees, won't you."

My smile faltered as I leant across the table to hug Vic goodbye. Invite Malfoy? To have dinner with _all_ of the Weasleys and the Potters.

Including my parents.

Oh, Merlin. Did I really have to?

We had been civil enough to one another in the hospital, it was true. But his grandma was ill. He'd probably just been too tired to be his normal, arrogant self.

* * *

I paced my room. Back and forth, back and forth, fighting an internal battle with myself as I waited for Malfoy to return.

I had to ask him to the family meal tomorrow. But, well, I really didn't want to. It would be awkward beyond awkward because it wasn't just me who didn't much like Malfoy. None of my family liked him much, besides Al and Nana Molly, of course.

The door handle turned and I threw myself into the chair at the desk in attempt to cover up the fact that I'd been waiting for him.

He walked in, striding quickly across the room and busying himself by rooting around through his bag.

I shut my eyes and let my courage build, breathing deeply. Come on Rose, just do it.

"We're having a family meal tomorrow." I began, practically mumbling so he wouldn't hear me. But of course, he did.

"That's nice," he replied. His tone mocking; clearly emphasising how little he cared.

"And..." I began again, reluctant to continue and unsure of how to phrase what I was about to say.

"And...?" He raised an eyebrow, "Come on Weasley, spit it out."

I would normally have scowled in return, but I hardly cared what he was saying since I had apparently forgotten how to form sentences.

I had to arrange the following words carefully in my head before I allowed myself to speak again. "And... my grandma wants you to come."

He frowned- seemingly speechless for a moment. Before he finally figured out how to respond. "Why?" Was his simplistic answer.

"Well, Aunt Fleur says that Nana says she wants to meet all of the people joining her family." I rushed to explain, suddenly slightly embarrassed for a reason I couldn't quite place. "You don't have to come- she's met you before so..."

It was true, in fact, in fourth year Malfoy had stayed at the burrow for a week during summer, Al had invited him- obviously. That week he'd had many meals with my family. So I wasn't quite sure why this time seemed like such a big deal to me.

"No," I continued when he didn't make any move to reply, "it was stupid you're right. If I were you I wouldn't want to come, I'll just tell them you're busy-"

"I'll come," he interrupted.

Now it was my turn to be speechless. I avoided eye contact with him, my eyes flirting around the room for something to occupy them as I searched for a reply. "Right." I settled, finally. I remained where I was for a moment, before eventually standing up and walking out.

 **A/N: Hope you liked it! I know, I know, it's ery slow. I'm sorry. At least you got some scene with Rose and Scorp, right? Leave a review! It really means a lot. Thanks and I'll try my best to be on time next week!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: None of this story is mine and I'm making no profit from it.**

 **A/N: Sorry sorry ssorry sorry sorry. I'm like really sorry. I know I said it would be a short hiatus and it's been over a year I'm pretty sure. Sorry. Here you go anyway, I'll update tomorrow and every Tuesday again hopefully for a while before I go back to school in September and the work load catches up again.**

* * *

 **Chapter 7:**

I woke up the next morning, soaking in the sun shining through the curtains of Dom's room and warming my face. I smiled, taking a breath of fresh air- letting the sound of chirping birds fill my ears.

Then, I remembered what day it was. I remembered a certain family meal, which a particular Slytherin would be attending.

My eyes flew open, my stomach filled up with apprehension and denial- I let out a groan and buried myself back under the duvet. Perhaps I wouldn't have to face the day if I never got out of bed.

"Get up Rosiekins!" Dom yelled suddenly and ripped the duvet off of me. "We've got to go soon, or we'll be late for lunch!" Her voice was sickeningly joyful.

"I'm sick," I lied blatantly, offering a half-hearted cough.

"Stop being silly Rose, get dressed and let's go."

I rolled my eyes and sat up, shooting her a puzzled look. "Why are you so eager to go anyway?"

She grinned, "Byron owled me earlier this morning, he's taken the day off of work to come today. It means he has to work overtime for the next week, but he says he doesn't mind if it'll make me happy." A pink tint spread over her cheeks for a second, before she shook her head, flicked her hair over her shoulder and turned her gaze on me. "Is Malfoy coming?"

I sighed loudly and nodded.

"I doubt your dad will like that."

"No," I agreed. "But he'll have to deal with it."

She nodded, before reaching down and scooping up a pile of clothes and throwing them at me. "Alright, get dressed and let's go."

"What's this?" I asked, looking gingerly at the clothing on my lap.

"Your outfit," she replied simply, shrugging. I rolled my eyes at her, but dragged myself out of bed and began to get dressed anyway.

Ten minutes later Dom was pulling me this way and that through the cold corridors of the castle and to the Gryffindor common room. I had to jog to keep up with her as she walked, heels clicking against the stone floors.

Why was she wearing heels to the Burrow? I wasn't sure. The mud and the grass and the uneven flooring made the whole place a tripping hazard on its own- not to mention all the chickens running about. It was probably a near impossible terrain with heels on.

I supposed she was making an effort for Byron- which I guess was sweet.

At Dom's pace, we reached the common room in under five minutes. She burst through the portrait hole, her excitement only becoming more evident as she walked into the room- then her face fell and her shoulders slumped.

"Where is everyone?" She asked.

Lily jerked up from where she appeared to have been sleeping on the sofa. She looked around the otherwise empty common room, dazed for a few moments, before eventually focusing on Dom and I. "Huh?" She asked groggily, rubbing her eyes.

"Where is everyone?" Dom repeated, slower this time- exasperation evident in her voice.

"Oh... not sure." She shrugged. "Still sleeping I guess, it _is_ pretty early."

Dom rolled her eyes, "It's 10 O'clock."

"Yes," Lily agreed, " _but_ it's a Sunday."

Dom looked as if she was going to argue back, but instead, she just frowned, strutted over to an armchair and sat down, arms crossed. "Fine," she said. "Guess I'll just wait for my substandard cousins to wake up and then we can go."

I mentally rolled my eyes at her theatrics, it was especially ironic- considering the number of times I'd had to wait for Dom whilst she was still sleeping- sometimes well into the afternoon.

"You go ahead Dom," I told her, sitting down next to Lily. "We don't have to all go at the same time."

She considered for a moment, before grinning and jumping to her feet- an act probably fairly dangerous in heels that size. "Ok," she agreed, before walking past me and towards the floo powder on the mantel.

She grabbed a handful of the glittering green powder before stepping towards the fireplace. She wrinkled her nose as she stepped inside. "My clothes are going to get all sooty," she whined. "I can't wait until we finally learn to apparate."

Then she shouted, "The Burrow;" threw the powder down, and was gone in an instant.

Lily relaxed back into the cushions once she was gone. "When _are_ you learning to apparate?" She asked, gazing at the ceiling distractedly.

"I'm not entirely sure- it's soon though."

"You know... our parents learnt how to apparate in sixth year."

"Oh yeah," I replied, "I had forgotten about that. Prime Minister Kingsley changed it, didn't he?" I couldn't help but feel slightly jealous of my parents as I looked towards the fireplace and remembered the nauseous feeling travelling by floo powder gave me.

Although, from what I'd heard, apparition was just as bad for first-timers.

Hugo emerged from the boy's dormitories then, before taking a seat beside us on the sofa. I wasn't quite sure why we were all waiting here instead of going ahead to The Burrow, but it was what we usually did- so, we waited.

Slowly- _very_ slowly- the rest of my family (and a few fiancés) trickled in. The rabble didn't include Scorpius.

Somehow, I wasn't surprised. Of course he would blow me off, he was a jerk- I'd always known that.

Still, that didn't stop it from hurting just a little.

Al and Alice were the last to arrive.

"Finally!" Lily exclaimed loudly, before pushing through the crowd of cousins, grabbing a handful of floo powder, stepping into the fireplace and being engulfed by green flames.

Hugo followed after, then Louis.

"Rose, where's Scorp?" Al asked me. I replied with a shrug.

"But, you did tell him about today, right?" Alice joined in from Al's other side.

"Yeah."

"And he said he'd come?"

"Yeah."

Al frowned, then opened his mouth as if he was going to reply, but I was already heading to the fireplace. It wasn't a conversation I wanted to be a part of, so I was glad of the excuse to get away.

I clambered in the fireplace with ease, very practised by now, coughing slightly as the ashes flew up in little dark clouds around me. "The Burrow," I yelled clearly, throwing the powder to the floor and feeling that slight edge of fear as the green fire sprung up around me.

Moments later and I was stumbling into my Nana's kitchen, my head swimming from flooing and my feet unsteady on the solid ground.

The first thing I registered was the familiar and comforting smells of Nana Molly's cooking. Then, the tell-tale Burrow sounds- sizzling food, scraping chairs, idle chatter and somewhere- faintly- chickens clucking.

"Rosie" My dad shouted from the corner of the kitchen where he was slicing up a cucumber. He ran over and scooped me into a hug. I clung to him, partly because I had missed him, partly because if I let go I was sure I would collapse.

"Rose, you look positively green," my mum told me, joining my line of sight and putting a hand on my forehead. "Are you feeling ok?"

I waved her away as my dad let go, "I'm fine. It's just..." I gestured vaguely at the fireplace. "Flooing..."

"Ah," my mum nodded in understanding as I heard one of my cousins appear in the fireplace behind me. "I was never very good at travelling by floo powder either, dear."

I sat at the kitchen table until my stomach stopped turning and settled down- as soon as it did, my mind went to Malfoy. He had seemed so genuine the day before. I had almost respected his maturity in that moment.

But then he'd done this- not bothered to turn up like the conceited Slytherin that he is. I rolled my eyes at myself, why I was even wasting time thinking about him, I did not know.

I turned to where Nana Molly was busy cooking and preparing. "Is there anything I can do to help, Nana?"

She put on her muggle oven gloves, (a present from Grandpa Arthur) and took her casserole off of the fire. "Well, I tell you what dear," she replied, "I've sent James, Fred and Roxy out to deal with the gnomes in the garden, but- knowing those three- they could probably use some help."

"Ok," I stood up, happy for a distraction from the intrusive thoughts about a certain stuck-up Slytherin. I made my way outside and walked around the garden.

Fred was already lying on the grass, clutching his finger as James and Roxy stood over him- holding their stomachs and very obviously trying not to keel over from laughing.

"What's wrong?" I asked running over, slightly worried by the look of pain on Fred's face.

"Gnome..." James answered, speaking through gasps of air and laughter. "Bit... him."

I grinned at the now-humorous scene, turning to Fred and crouching down next to him in the dewy grass. "You know," I began, studying the bite on his finger. "Lorcan says gnome saliva is enormously beneficial."

This only made James and Roxy laugh harder- and I couldn't help but join in. When Fred made no move to get up, I rolled my eyes and fished my wand out of my pocket. "Tergeo", I muttered, pointing it at his finger and watching in satisfaction as the blood around the bite disappeared. "Reparifors." A small, purple-white light burst out of the end of my wand and landed on his bite. It began to sew itself back together in front of our eyes.

When it was done, the finger looked good as new. I couldn't help but smile in triumph- I didn't often get to use proper spells in real-life situations.

"Thanks Rose," Fred told me, inspecting his finger for a moment, before jumping to his feet. "Now, where is that buggar?" A worryingly crazed look lit up his eyes, right as he all but dived into the nearby rose bush.

I snorted with laughter and shook my head at my cousin's antics, before heading to the opposite end of the garden and reaching into a hedge. I ignored the scratchy leaves and gruff, gnome-like voice that uttered some un-repeatable words at me for disturbing his peace.

I peered in and snatched at the source of the crude swearing- grabbing a gnome and pulling him out of the thick vegetation- kicking and flailing and cursing.

"Good one Rose," Roxy called, from where she stood- hand fully submerged in a flowerbed.

"If you can get it past that tree stump, you'll be in the lead," James told me, indicating to a stump over the garden hedge and far into the field beyond. I grinned back at him, thrilled at the idea of a challenge and peaked over the hedge to see the tree stump. It was about 17m away.

"Who threw it that far?" I asked.

"Me," Fred raised his hand from where he still lay in the rose bush.

I grinned as he poked his head above the surface of the vegetation. Then, I stretched my arms back, ran forwards, and flung the gnome with all my strength. It landed just before the stump- then rolled past it.

"Woooh!" James and Roxy clapped as Fred shook his head vehemently.

"No, doesn't count, doesn't count." He assured us.

"C'mon big bro," Roxy said, ruffling his hair. "Don't be a sore loser."

I laughed and plonked down onto the grass. "So," I began, "where are you guys' partners-to-be?"

"Brannon has quidditch practice this morning," Roxy replied, practically rugby tackling a gnome that had peeked its head out from a cluster of tulips. "But he's coming a bit later."

"How is he? Do you like him?"

She shrugged in response. "He's a decent guy- pretty down-to-earth which is rare for these big-shot quidditch players. But, I'm not in love with him or anything- I think Fred might be though." She snorted as her brother made a sound of objection. "He keeps making up excuses to come round."

"You're already living with him then?" I asked, absentmindedly picking at the grass.

"Yeah... I know we were given two months to move in together, but I didn't see much point in waiting until the very last moment."

"What about you Fred? Where's... um-"

"Tara. She was out here helping us, just went to the bathroom a few minutes ago."

"James?"

My cousins face turned sullen quicker than I could have thought possible. He turned his gaze away from us and shrugged. "Dunno where she is."

"Is she coming today?"

"Yeah, said she was."

"She could have arrived already," Roxy interjected, "you should probably go check."

"No, I'm good," James replied, digging through another bush to emphasise the fact that he wasn't going.

"Fine," Roxy rolled her eyes exaggeratedly at me, "I'll go see."

I frowned at the situation, before clambering to my feet and brushing myself off. "I'll come," I told Roxy, following after her.

"So what's the deal?" I asked her when I was sure we were out of earshot. "With James and..."

"Daisy," Roxy supplied. "I don't know- he's been sulking ever since the law was instated. Refusing to move in with her, refusing to meet up, he doesn't even answer her owls. Or at least, if he does, it's only the bare minimum."

"Why? Doesn't he like her?"

"He doesn't even _know_ her- isn't giving her a chance. I've met up with her a few times, she's so sweet. She won't say a bad word against James, despite the fact that he's acting like a toddler in a sour mood."

I frowned, thinking about the way James had reacted- not even wanting to check if she had arrived yet, despite the fact that she would be in a new place with only strangers. Usually, James was more sensitive than that. "Why is he acting like this?"

"He thinks it's unfair." Roxy rolls his eyes, "yes, this law is fucked up. But we're all going through the same thing. And at least he got paired with someone decent, you got put with _Malfoy_ and you're taking it much better than he is."

I let out a bitter bark of laughter. But it was a little too real to be funny.

Besides, behind the scenes I _was_ acting pretty similar to James.

Nana Molly was bustling around someone in the middle of the kitchen when we walked through the door. She was wearing a dress covered in daisies and had wild, curly hair and dark skin and eyes. She looked nervous out of her wits, but smiled when she looked up and saw Roxy.

"Roxanne!" She exclaimed, relief evident on her face. I didn't blame her, Nana could be stifling at the best of times, but with a new addition to her family- I shivered at the thought.

"Stop fussing, Nana," Roxy told Nana Molly as she crossed the room and hugged Daisy.

"Well, can't an old lady get excited to meet her future granddaughter in law," Nana replied, receiving a timid smile from Daisy and an exasperated look from Roxy. "Oh alright," She conceded, "I'll just be over here cooking lunch and not bothering anyone."

"Can I do anything to help, Mrs Weasley?" Daisy asked, repeatedly fixing her hair and flattening her dress anxiously.

"Oh no dear," Nana turned around and smiled. "You're very sweet to ask though. Roxy, why don't you take Daisy into the living room to meet everyone. I know Lily has been _dying_ to meet her new sister-in-law."

"Ok, if Daisy's up for that." Roxy shot an inquisitive look at the girl in question, who nodded in response. "Well, let's go then. Oh, this is Rose, by the way, another cousin."

"Hi," I greeted, trying my most welcoming smile.

She offered me one in return, before following Roxy into the living room with me trailing behind.

Walking into the living room was how I imagined walking into a zoo would be like- if the animals were all confined to one burrow-sized cage. At least, the noise was similar.

Practically all my cousins and aunts and uncles were there, Granddad Arthur by the fireplace sitting next to Andromeda and scattered around the room were a few faces I didn't quite recognise. Dom was making googly eyes at Byron as he told her an animated story- and Vic and Teddy were in the corner, conversing in low voices.

"Everyone!" Roxy yelled over the din, silencing the room and attracting everyone's attention (no easy feat in the Weasley household). "This is Daisy."

There was a quiet pause for a moment as everyone digested the information and name. Then suddenly, "Daisy!" A blur of ginger and green ran across the room and barreled into her, trapping her in a hug. Daisy let out a soft, 'oof', before hugging Lily back.

"Oh, it's so lovely to meet you." Ginny rose from where she was sitting, "I'm Ginny Potter."

Lily stepped back, letting Daisy breath only for a moment before Ginny engulfed her soon-to-be daughter-in-law in a motherly hug of her own.

"Lovely to meet you, Mrs Potter."

"Oh, please, call me Ginny."

"Alright, you can let go now dear," Harry said to his wife as he rose from an armchair. "I think you're stifling poor Daisy."

Ginny grinned and pulled away, allowing Harry to offer his hand to Daisy. "Lovely to meet you, I'm Harry Potter."

She shook his hand and I saw in her eyes the look I'd seen in the eyes of hundreds' of others when they first met the Boy Who Lived. "I'm glad I could finally meet you all." She said, keeping her voice steady and making an effort to rid the awe from her gaze.

"We're glad too," Harry replied, green eyes twinkling. "So, tell us about yourself, where do you work?"

"Well-" Daisy began, obviously relaxing into the atmosphere at The Burrow, when she was interrupted.

"FOOD'S READY!" Nana Molly's shout was in no way muffled by the door separating us from the kitchen. As soon as she'd spoken, a cheer went up around the room and we were scrambling for the door like a pack of rabid dogs. We piled out of the kitchen and into the garden, where the table had already been set thanks to the insanely effective domestic magic of Molly Weasley.

We sat down and started scrabbling, grabbing plates and potatoes and I'm pretty sure James stabbed Fred with his fork at some point. The new additions to the table- and, I suppose, the family- were looking utterly bewildered.

Apart from Alice, of course, who was well practised in the art of eating with Weasleys.

I had somehow found myself wedged between Daisy and Aunt Angelina, so I snatched a potato from the middle of the table with my fork and dropped it onto Daisy's so far empty plate.

"Thanks," she replied, offering me a small smile.

* * *

We ate and talked well into the afternoon- everyone getting to know the new additions to the family. Everyone except James, who said perhaps two words to Daisy the whole meal and otherwise sat there with a sullen face, ignoring the not-so-subtle hints from Ginny to make an effort and talk to his fiance.

Brannon arrived half-way through the meal, not surprisingly causing quite a disruption with the Weasleys. My dad turned as red as his hair as he greeted Roxy's fiance and I couldn't help but humour myself with the idea that my dad would have much prefered Brannon as a son-in-law.

Still- at least he was coming into the family.

The early chills of a day ending were creeping up on us when Victoire and Teddy finally stood from the table and shouted for everyone's attention.

"I know it's getting cold," Teddy began, "so we wanted to say this before we all head inside." He looked at Vic and beamed, the ends of his hair turning pink with glee.

Vic looked around the table, lingering on the tension in the air for dramatic effect, before clapping her hands together and letting her face break out into a vision of pure happiness, "We're pregnant!"

Gasps went up around the table and then everyone was shouting and yelling and cheering, Fleur practically climbed over the table to hug her daughter and Uncle Bill wasn't far behind. Andromeda seemed to be on cloud nine, she was beaming from ear to ear and repeating, "A great-grandmother. A great-grandmother," over and over again.

I hugged Vic and Teddy together, "I'm so happy for you guys," I told them, my mind already racing. Their child would be part veela, part metamorphmagus.

I beamed and pulled back, making way for the rest of my family.

We went in after that, the buzz from the news following us inside and into the warmth of the living room. I was just settling into my game of Wizard's chess with Hugo- thinking about how successful the day had been- when a commotion sounded from inside the kitchen.

The room fell silent, frowning in confusion until the door opened seconds later and in stepped a blonde-haired silver-eyed Slytherin.

The silence didn't cease as he revealed himself, instead, it just grew more intense. Perhaps it only lasted a few seconds, but like in most tense situations- the seconds just seemed to stretch and stretch.

"Sorry I'm late." He said curtly.

The silence lingered for a moment longer before Al jumped up, "Scorp." He greeted his friend and made his way over to clap him on the back.

The chatter started uneasily back up again and I turned back to my game with Hugo. After all, Malfoy at the Burrow wasn't previously unheard of- but now we were in a slightly different situation.

I looked up at my brother to see him grinning wickedly at me from across the chess board. I frowned, casting him a questioning glance, but I didn't have a chance to open my mouth to ask him about what he was smiling at before he opened his own annoyingly loud one.

"Oi, Malfoy," He called to the new arrival, "I'm gonna ask if Nan has any leftovers, will you fill in for me?"

I swore fiercely under my breath and cast him the most hateful look I could muster- but it didn't seem to faze in the slightest as he just grinned back at me, got up, and left.

I frowned, already feeling a blush creep up my face and focusing my gaze fixedly on my chess pieces- trying to seem like I was completely concentrated on the game.

I saw him sit down opposite me, but didn't raise my eyes to acknowledge him.

There was a moment of silence before he spoke, "Ignoring me are you, Weasley?" He asked, humour dripping from his voice. Three seconds in and he was already poking fun at me.

I bit my tongue to stop a snarky response from escaping. "Nope," I replied, trying to keep my voice nonchalant.

He snorted, indicating how little he believed me. "Ok sure." He made his move on the chess board, letting the silence stretch a moment longer before speaking again. "So why are you mad at me this time? Is it because I was late. Didn't you hear me say I was sorry?"

I rolled my eyes and looked at him directly in the face. "I'm not mad at you, I just don't like you very much." I turned my attention back to the chess pieces on the board and _felt_ rather than saw him rolling his eyes. "Why _were_ you late anyway?" I asked, keeping my tone light to prove how little it affected me.

He didn't answer for a moment, so I moved my piece to fill the silence. I was beginning to think he would just ignore my question- which would probably mean he had been off with some girl. Then, he replied, "My Grandma had a bad day."

I didn't speak for a moment, taken aback by the response- it wasn't what I had been expecting at all. Eventually, I let out a soft "oh". I felt all the bitterness that had built up inside me throughout the day dissipate. "Is she... is she okay now?"

He moved his chess piece, before shrugging and replying noncommittally, "yeah."

I didn't quite believe him, but I didn't push it.

"Rose!" Someone exclaimed before plopping down to sit beside me. I turned to face Dom, who clutched onto my face. "Rose," she repeated, quieter this time.

"Dom," I replied, mimicking her tone- it was obvious she was drunk. Which was surprising at a family event, but this _was_ Dom... she was a seasoned drinker. She could drink most of the Weasley's under the table- and often did.

"Rose, look, me and Byron are going to..." she seemed to lose her train of thought then and let her gaze fall to the floor- her brow furrowed in confusion. I cast a bemused look at Malfoy, to see that he was watching my cousin with a look of half amusement, half confusion.

" _Rose_ ," Dom said again, "listen to me!" She pulled my head back around to face her. "This is really really important."

"Ok," I told her, figuring that I should just go with it. "What is it?"

"Me and Byron," she giggled as she cast a glance at her fiance- who currently sat on the other side of the room in a conversation with Louis. "We're getting _married_." She stopped, and I waited a few seconds but she didn't continue- she just looked at me expectantly.

"That's... great Dom, but we already knew-"

"Shhh." She interrupted me, putting a wobbly finger to my lips and rolling her eyes exaggeratedly, "you didn't let me finish. We're getting married on Sunday!"

"That's great Dom," I repeated my words, much more earnestly this time. But honestly, was it? If Dom and Byron had fallen in love the normal way, without the law, I would definitely not think them getting married so soon was great.

But anyway, I didn't voice those thoughts.

" _And_ ," she continued dramatically, "I want you to be my bridesmaid because I'm doing the whole white magical wedding thing. I know you said you wanted a register office wedding Rose, but I don't want that so I'm doing this and you _have_ to be my bridesmaid."

I felt my cheeks heat slightly and snuck a glance at Malfoy to see if he had heard, but his attention appeared to be on something across the room. Not that that meant he hadn't heard.

Rationally, I didn't need to be embarrassed about him hearing what I had said to Dom about our wedding. Irrationally, I was anyway.

I turned my attention back to my cousin. "I'd love to be your bridesmaid Dom, but... Sunday is only a week away. How are you going to pull off a big white wedding in seven days?"

She shrugged, her eyes glazing over slightly, which I suppose had something to do with the alcohol in her system. "Don't know, but I'm gonna have to aren't I?"

"You could change the date, give yourself two weeks, or three," I suggested.

She rolled her eyes at me again, "I would love to, but the deadline is on _Monday_ , silly. Everyone has to get married before that."

I felt my heart fall into my stomach as I looked back to Malfoy with a sense of panic, he had definitely heard this time, his eyes had snapped to Dom and I suppose he was shocked too, but he didn't really show emotion in the same way as normal humans.

"Monday?" I repeated, "as in, the Monday that's a week away?"

" _Yees_ ," she drew the word out, exasperation evident in her slightly slurred tone.

I met Malfoy's gaze, but his eyes were unreadable.

"Oh," I replied, as nothing else came to mind. How had I forgotten? How had something that important just slipped my mind?

She paused a second, looking between me and Malfoy, before shrugging her shoulders and bouncing to her feet. "Well, I have to tell everyone else now." She told me, then she left, swaying slightly as she walked.

There was another moment of silence as I thought of what to say to Malfoy. How did I start a conversation like this? _'Hey Malfoy, I know we hate each other, but apparently we have a week to get married... so?'_ Somehow, that didn't seem quite right. As it turned out, my musings were for nothing as he was the one who spoke first.

"Friday," he told me, snapping my attention to him.

I paused, giving him time to continue, but apparently that was all he had intended to say.

"Care to elaborate?" I prompted, my tone laced with sarcasm.

"Let's do it on Friday." This time, I knew exactly what he meant. "After classes, or during- I'm sure McGonagall won't mind. At the ministry... we can sign a few papers and it'll be done." He spoke simply, as if talking of a business deal or contract, but his eyes didn't meet my gaze.

 _It'll be done_ , as in _I'll be Mrs Malfoy._

No, I would keep my name, _that_ I was adamant about. I knew Malfoy would probably disapprove, or at least his dad would. But in a way, that made the prospect all the more appealing.

I moved my chess piece, more for something to do than anything else, before eventually nodding. Then, for something to lighten the mood, "It's not exactly the romantic proposal I always dreamed of, but I'll take it."

He smirked in response to my joke and I shook my head internally. Joking with Scorpius Malfoy, what had the world come to?

He moved his chess piece, but I wasn't paying close attention. Not until he said, "Checkmate." My eyes snapped to the board, expecting to see him having made a mistake, but he was right.

"That doesn't count!" I cried, letting my Granger competitiveness shine through.

"How?" He replied, smirking coolly at me from across the table.

"You distracted me," I told him.

He raised an eyebrow. "Well, I apologise for that Weasley, but unfortunately I can't turn off my Godly charm and good-looks, no matter how distracting they may be."

I rolled my eyes, "rematch?"

"Sure," he shrugged, "as long as you don't mind getting beaten again."

I grinned, accepting the challenge as I reset the board.

* * *

 **A/N: Sorry again for the long wait, like _really_ long wait. I hope you enjoyed the chapter anyway. Did anyone pick up on the symbolism of the last sentence? I hope so, though it's quite obtuse so probably not. :)**


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: None of this story is mine and I'm making no profit from it.**

 **A/N: It's me again! So I did half of this chapter, then the document decided to mess up and I lost it all. But, anyway. I redid it and here you go.**

* * *

 **Chapter 8:**

Monday morning was the first time in a fair while that I woke up happy.

The day before had gone surprisingly well, me and Malfoy had played a lot of chess. And for once, he hadn't been a /complete/ dickhead.

I know, shocker, right?

Dom had spread the news about her wedding throughout the room, subsequently reminding everyone of the deadline. It seemed that, like me, most of my family had forgotten.

By the end of the night, wedding plans were being made left, right, and centre. Most of my cousins had decided on register office weddings like me- much to Nana Molly's poorly concealed disappointment.

I was sure some of them would have ceremonies eventually, when they were ready. But for the time being, only Al and Alice had decided on a ceremony, besides Dom and Byron. But even that would be very small- only close friends and family.

So there was a skip in my step as I made my way down to breakfast and slid into my usual place at the Gryffindor table and began piling food onto my plate.

It wasn't long before McGonagall stepped up to the front of the hall. She cleared her throat and the whole room fell silent within seconds. She let her gaze roll over the room for a few moments before she spoke.

"Seventh years," she began. A groan went up around the room and I felt my heart sink- my previous good mood cut unfairly short. Any announcement beginning with those two words was bound to be about the marriage law.

She waited a few minutes, casting a stern look around at the students who had complained loudest until the groaning and mumbling had died down. Then she started again. "Seventh years, as you are hopefully already aware of, you have only a week left to become legally married to your partners." She paused as a few panicked glanced were thrown around the room. It seemed a lot of people had forgotten.

"In light of this, we have decided to give all seventh years this week off classes to squeeze in any last-minute arrangements." A cheer was the response from the room this time. "Classes will be still running, for those who wish to attend. But it is not compulsory. "

"However, before you all go running off to Hogsmeade- there is something happening today for seventh years that I'm sure will be of interest to many of you. Today will be the first of three apparition lessons that any willing students are able to participate in." An excited buzz of chatter went up around the room.

 _Finally_ , I thought to myself. Soon I wouldn't ever have to floo anywhere again.

Although- from what I'd heard apparition could be just as uncomfortable.

"The session will take place after breakfast, however, if you could exit the Great Hall along with the other students that will give us time to prepare the room." She smiled down at the excited faces. "That is all, other years will have lessons as usual."

Then she retook her seat at the staff table.

Breakfast was over quickly- and the buzz of voices followed us out as the whole school spilt into the entrance hall. I waited with Alice and Dom and I could tell that I wasn't the only one excited by the prospect of _finally_ learning how to apparate.

"Three sessions and then we'll never have to floo anywhere again." Dom told us, "no more sooty clothes, no more ashy hair, no more clumsy entrances. Thank _Merlin_."

"I'm mostly just excited about not feeling like I'm going to catch fire every time I have to go somewhere." Alice chimed in. I was inclined to agree.

Eventually, the huge oak doors re-opened and we were allowed back inside.

The hall we walked into was almost unrecognisable. The tables and chairs had been shoved unceremoniously to the side and all of the floating candles were gone. I supposed they were a safety hazard. Besides, they were hardly needed during the day.

The floor was covered in rings in neat rows. Some blue- some red. And at the front of the room, there was a man, standing where the staff table would usually be. He was a... round man. And the buttons at the front of his petticoat were clearly having a hard time staying attached.

But the man seemed unconcerned about the buttons that could go flying from his person at any moment. Instead, he stood at the front of the room, smiling widely and rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet as he watched us all fill the room.

"Yes, yes, welcome ladies and gentlemen. Please, find yourself a blue ring to stand in. Yes, very good, very good. No. Young man, I said a /blue/ ring. Yes, that one will do perfectly." He told us, already giving me the impression that he was a man of _many_ words. Eventually, we all seemed to find a spot in the hall and the excited whispering and sound of movement died down.

"Yes, very good ladies and gentlemen." He spoke to the room at large and clapped his hands together. "I'm Mr Porter and welcome to the art of apparition." He spoke as if we didn't already know why we were there. "I'm sure you have all heard of apparition before. Some of you may even have performed side-long apparition with an older witch or wizard." He spoke slowly, as if trying to build the tension. I could feel my classmates getting restless as their impatience grew.

"But today, I will begin to teach you how apparate _by your self_." He beamed as if he had just told us the best news we could have ever been blessed with. "But first, a few safety measures folks." An audible groan went up around the room in response to his words. But it didn't dissuade him.

"I know, I know. Tedious, but necessary ladies and gentlemen. There are some conditions under which people can not be permitted to apparate. Now, if any of the following apply to you, please step outside and we will arrange a make-up session later in the week." he paused, letting his little eyes scanned the room as the air around the hall became tense. No one wanted to miss this.

"Firstly, if you have taken any of the following potions in the last 24 hours:' he rattled off a list of potions and one boy in the back of the hall swore loudly- which received a pointed look from Mr Porter, before he left the room.

"Also, it is very risky to apparate- or at least _learn_ to apparate- whilst pregnant. And if any of you ladies think there might be even a _slight_ chance then I recommend you double check before taking part in this class." The room fell silent and no one moved for a moment.

Then eventually, a Ravenclaw girl turned and walked purposefully out of the room with her chin up, avoiding the stares of her classmates as she marched by. I looked to the front of the room, where her Slytherin fiance was watching her go with wide eyes as his mates elbowed him and sniggered.

 _Oh Merlin_. I thought, _they could have told us this earlier_. It felt cruel that they would say this as the whole year was there, watching.

No one else made any sign of leaving though, so Mr Porter restarted his speech. "Alrighty, now, can everyone see the red circle directly in front of them? Yes? Good, now-" But I had stopped hearing him. Because at that moment Dom had turned and made a bee-line for the back of the hall. I watched her go, my stomach sinking. Did that mean... was she..?

I locked eyes with Alice, who looked just as dumb-struck as me. I wondered for a moment if I should go after my cousin, but something kept my feet frozen to the spot.

I would find Dom afterwards, I told myself. I would go straight to her room as soon as this lesson was over.

* * *

An hour later, I found Dom in her room, curled up under the covers of her bed. She opened her eyes when I came in, but didn't say anything. So neither did I.

Instead, I just crossed the room and lay down next to her. Letting the silence stretch on until, eventually, she spoke. "I'm not- well- I don't know if I am, I just-" she took a deep breath. "Me and Byron do a lot of stuff and sometimes we're not as careful as we should be." She sighed. Before flicking her strawberry-blonde hair behind her and sitting up in her bed.

"Can you do the spell?" She asked me, pointing to her stomach, "I don't know it very well and if I do it wrong then it won't be accurate."

I smiled, "of course." I tried to mask my nerves, but I had never done a pregnancy test before. It's not exactly taught in school very extensively. Perhaps most wizard households grew up just _knowing_ the spell. But my mum had told me she'd always opted for the muggle version of a pregnancy test and I'd planned on doing the same.

Eventually.

Nevertheless, I knew the words and I knew the movement. So I rested the tip of my wand gently on Dom's stomach, drew a little circle, and whispered the incantation under my breath. Then, we waited.

Waited for the silvery glow at the end of my wand that would tell us that Dom was pregnant. But it never came.

After thirty seconds, I looked up at my cousin to find her already grinning down at me. I let myself grin too.

"Thank _fuck!_ " she exclaimed, flopping back onto her bed, and I allowed myself a quick laugh of relief as I lay down beside her. For a few minutes, the only thing we could hear was the sound of our own breathing.

"We should probably go tell the others." I told her eventually, "they saw you leave the hall too." She turned to face me and then screwed her face up, as if talking to our family right now was the last thing she wanted to do. When I raised my eyebrows for a response, she crawled under the covers to hide.

"Can't you do it?" She asked me, her voice muffled. "I've had quite an ordeal this morning Rosie Posie."

I smiled reassuringly at her, despite the fact she couldn't see me. "Of course I will," I agreed, then stood up, pulled on my shoes, and walked softly out of the room.

I shouldn't have been surprised to find Al and Alice waiting outside in the common room that Dom's dorm led off of. Of course they would be there.

They were sitting side by side on one of the sofas and looked up as the door clicked shut behind me. They didn't say anything, but they were asking a question all the same.

"False alarm," I told them, grinning as they sighed in relief and visibly relaxed into the sofa.

"Merlin's beard Rose, my heart has been beating so fast," Al said, clutching his chest. "I just kept imagining what Uncle Bill would say."

I winced at the thought and sat down next to my cousin. "He wouldn't be happy."

"No," Al agreed. "I mean, did you see Byron and Uncle Bill last night after lunch."

I frowned in response, "No? What happened?"

"Nothing happened," Alice chimed in from where she sat on the other side of Al. "But it was so tense, Bill kept sending Byron death glares. And believe me, they're a lot scarier coming from an almost werewolf."

I sat there for a moment, wondering how I had missed all of this, then letting myself imagine the death glare Alice was talking about. I shivered, suddenly very glad that I wasn't on the wrong side of William Weasley.

"Alright, well," I pushed myself up from the sofa. "I'm off to class."

Al looked at me dumbstruck, "Rose..." he began, as if talking to a wounded animal.

"Al..." I responded, raising my eyebrows in impatience. I had already missed half of second lesson.

"You know... we don't have to go to lessons this week." He replied.

I rolled my eyes, "Yes, Al, I heard McGonagall. But we have NEWTs coming up and if you think I am not going to every single lesson I can, then you are very mistaken."

My cousin looked at me, incredulous, while Alice giggled at his expression. But I didn't want to miss another second of potions, so I offered them a laugh and a wave and then I was on my way.

* * *

The week went by in a blur of classes and studying and my family getting married to people they'd met only about a month before and then it was Friday. And I was sitting in a cold white room in the ministry. And Alice was beside me.

And it was my turn.

How long had I dreaded this moment? It felt like my whole life. But I don't think I was as nervous as I should have been. I had this horrible twisting sensation in my stomach, sure, but it wasn't even as bad as the feeling I'd gotten before my first OWL examination.

The ministry waiting room didn't help much though. There was a small vase of dying flowers in the corner, but other than that there was nothing to try and set a 'mood'. I thought about all the people who had been in this room before.

They had probably been ecstatic, giddy with excitement. They were about to make a lifetime commitment to their one true love. Sure, they might have been nervous. But happy, mostly just happy.

I was not happy.

I felt like I was about to go in for some major life-changing operation. I felt like I was in a vets, sitting there waiting to find out if Snuffles would pull through. Now, I haven't asked a lot of people, but I'm pretty sure those aren't the feelings you're supposed to have when you're about to get married.

I looked down at myself, in my white blouse and black skirt. It was something I would wear to a job interview. For the umpteenth time I wondered if it was appropriate, then for the umpteenth time I remembered I didn't care.

I checked the big clock on the wall again, perhaps for the fourth time that minute. _Come on_. I thought, glancing towards the door. _I swear to God if they're late_.

At that moment, as if it had somehow heard my aggressive internal monologue, the door opened and Malfoy and Al stepped through.

Alice rushed over to Al, tutting and attempting to fix his mess of a tie as I let out a sigh of relief and stood up. "Nice of you to show up," I told them, sarcasm lacing my tone.

"We're on time aren't we?" Malfoy replied, his tone lacking amusement. He sat down in a chair on the other side of the room, looking entirely unbothered by the whole situation.

Perhaps I would have retaliated, but then a door to our left opened and an official-looking woman stepped through and looked at us over her glasses. "Rose Weasley, Scorpius Malfoy and witnesses, please come through."

My heart rate sped up and I looked back for Alice, only to find her right beside me. She smiled at me like _'you can do this Rose'_.

I smiled back like _'I would rather die. But- thanks'_.

Nevertheless, I followed the official woman into the room, feeling the other three file in behind me.

At the end of the room there was a man, standing with a straight back and watching me down his nose as I made my way to stand in front of him. I felt Malfoy come up to stand beside me, and a quick glance over my shoulder told me Al and Alice had taken their seats amongst the handful of chairs in the room.

"Alright Ladies and Gentleman," the man said, laying some documents onto the high desk in front of me and Malfoy so that we could read them.

"This shouldn't be a very long process. If you could just sign a few papers and then we can get on with the bonding ceremony." He said, pausing to rock back on his heels and carefully clasp his hand in front of him. "Please write your current full names on the first empty box on the parchments before." He told us, pointing to the specified area. "Be sure to include any middle names you may have."

We bent over the desk and the room fell silent for a few moments, the only sound was our quills scratching the parchment. I had written my name a thousand times. On homework, essays, letters, birthday cards- but the letters felt foreign to me today. My hand was shaky and the butterflies in my stomach weren't just fluttering- they were kicking.

"Alright," he said, after we had both placed our quills back in the inkpots we found them. "Now in the box below that, please write your married names. This is that part where you become Mrs Malfoy, Miss Weasley." He told me, as if it were the most exciting news I could ever hear. Behind me, Alice must have raised her eyebrows at him, or something, because the smile dropped from his face as he cleared his throat. "I-if you so choose- of course," he corrected.

I returned my focus to the document, internally rolling my eyes and making sure to spell ' _Weasley_ ' in big loopy letters.

Malfoy snorted behind me, and I looked up to see him watching me write. I scowled at him in response. "What?"

He raised an eyebrow and- quietly enough so that only I could hear him- said. "Nice name." The low volume did nothing to lessen his obvious sarcasm.

I looked back down at the parchment and narrowed my eyes as they came to rest on my middle name and realisation dawned. _Nymphadora_. It was a rather strange name, I let myself grin before scowling in mock offence and looking over at where he had signed his own name.

"Oh," I retaliated under my breath, my voice already heavy with irony, "as if _Hyperion's_ any better!" I rolled my eyes at his own middle name. To my surprise, he let out a short laugh- so quick I could have missed it.

The man in front of us cleared his throat and silenced us with a disapproving look. "Alright, now, please grasp each other's right arm with your own right hand- yes, just like that." He told us, nodding as we did what he asked.

Then he pulled his wand from the pocket of his ministry robes and pointed it at where our arms met. He started reciting an incantation under his breath and- as he spoke- a glowing golden thread appeared from the tip of his wand and began to wind itself around our arms.

I watched it closely, more out of my own educational curiosity than anything else. It reminded me of the unbreakable vow ritual that I had read about. Somehow, that was not a comforting thought.

Then, the golden thread seemed to melt into our skin, leaving my fingers tingling with something that felt like electricity. The man stopped muttering and returned his wand to his pocket and me and Malfoy detached ourselves from each other. I flexed my hand, staring at it as I felt the magic root its way into my very bones.

I let out a breath I hadn't realised I'd been holding, before looking up at Malfoy to see him watching me with his eyebrows slightly raised. He didn't look expectant, but I still felt like perhaps there was something I should say.

What do you say after you get married to a boy you've hated for years? I don't think even the whole Hogwarts library could have helped me find an answer to that question.

Luckily, I didn't have to, because Al came over and clapped his friend on the back. Alice came up to me too and was dragging me away. "Alright Rose, business time, my own wedding is in 2 hours and I haven't even _begun_ getting ready."

I was glad as she dragged me to the nearest fireplace and pushed me in, throwing some floo powder in after me. Helping my best friend with her own wedding would be the _perfect_ distraction from the life-changing event I had just endured.

Of course, I thought drily as I stepped out into Malfoy Manor, it might have been better if Al and Alice hadn't chosen to have their wedding in my new husband's house.

Wait... did that mean it was my house too?

Oh, Merlin, no Rose, stop thinking like that, you'll freak yourself out. It's _his_ house.

I shook my head free of those thoughts and... stopped short. Merlin's beard, this house was- well- huge. I'd never been to the manor before. Of course- people had told me it was big and grand but... I'd never expected this. I caught sight of a bust on a nearby oak table and peered at it curiously.

It looked as if it was worth more than my whole house. Which, now that I mention it, it could well be.

"I know," Alice said as she came up beside me and snapped me out of my thoughts. "It's so bloody massive. When Malfoy first offered us this place as a wedding venue, I came to look around and I swear to Merlin I couldn't speak the whole time."

"This is..." I trailed off, at a complete loss for words.

"Crazy?" She supplied.

"Yeah, and it's-"

"yours."

I felt a blush creep up my necks. "It is _not_ mine," I challenged, feeling a bit queasy as I looked up and down the ornate corridors.

"Well, it's partly yours," Alice grinned as she walked past me, "do me a favour and nick a vase or two when no ones looking will you?" She laughed and I rolled my eyes playfully as I fell into step beside her.

"So... where are we going?" I asked her, peering through open doors and windows as we made our way through the mansion. "To the garden, that's where the ceremony is being held and that's where- I'm hoping- Astoria and my mum will be. Astoria said she'd show me a room where I can get ready, and of course my mum wants to help me too."

Alice's voice had gone all business-like and focused. Well, I suppose that's what happens when you have under two hours to get ready for your own wedding. I was even struggling to keep up with her as she strode purposefully through the manor and eventually into a courtyard.

The space was absolutely filled with flowers and blossom trees, it was barely even spring, yet everything was in full bloom, no doubt thanks to some kind of magic.

There were a handful of house elves in the garden, too. Levitating in chairs and placing them in rows as Astoria Malfoy (a.k.a: my new mother in law) instructed them. As we came through the trees and into the centre of the clearing, Hannah, Alice's mum, left the wedding arch she was constructing and rushed over to her daughter.

"Alice! I knew you said you were busy today, but honestly! How will we ever have enough time to do your hair _and_ makeup," she fussed, looking worriedly at the watch on her wrist. "Oh well, we'll have to make it work, won't we?"

Alice cast me an exasperated glance as her mother turned to Astoria. "Mrs Malfoy, Alice and Rose are here," Hannah said, causing the woman to turn and face them.

"Ah yes, of course," she said, her face lighting up as she saw us. "Follow me, girls, I have a room Alice can get ready in."

"Thanks Mrs Malfoy," Alice offered as we followed Mrs Malfoy out of the sunny courtyard and back into the manor. "And thanks again for letting me and Al have the ceremony here, I hope it hasn't been too much hassle."

"Nonsense dear, it's been a pleasure," Malfoy's mum replied as she opened the door into a spacious dressing room ornate mirrors hung along every wall. She looked like she really meant it, and for a moment I felt a wave of guilt that she would never be a part of her own son's wedding like this. "Anything for Albus Potter and his fiance, that boy has been such a good friend to my Scor all these years." She beamed, standing aside and letting Alice and her mum enter the room.

I lingered outside though. Feeling, overwhelmingly, that I needed to say something to my new mother-in-law, but not knowing exactly what. Once again, I was saved by my own awkwardness as Mrs Malfoy stepped forward and engulfed me in a vanilla-scented hug.

"Welcome to the family dear," she spoke as she pulled back. And for a second there was something so homely in her eyes I was immediately reminded of my own Nana Molly. "I know that you and Scorpius have never quite seen eye-to-eye," oh... so she knew how we really felt about one another. I felt a blush creep up my neck. "But he is a good man at heart, my Scorp. Just like his father."

Good man and Draco Malfoy were not terms I would have previously associated together. But, after all, all I had to go off of were my own father's incessant rantings. And Ronald Weasley could be biased at the best of times.

So I just smiled, and replied, "thank you Mrs Malfoy."

"Astoria, dear, call me Astoria," she smiled fondly and I couldn't help but feel like I didn't deserve her fondness. If she knew all of the things I had said and thought about her son over the years...

"Well, we don't have time for this dilly-dallying. Go help Alice get ready, we can talk more after the ceremony." She smiled, before hurrying back down the corridor to carry on with the wedding preparations, leaving me to follow my best friend into the dressing room.

* * *

Around two hours later, I was sitting- surrounded by my family- watching my best friend walk down the aisle. Originally, they had meant for a small gathering, but nothing that all the Weasleys are invited to is ever going to be small.

Alice _was_ in a white dress, apparently, her mum had persuaded her, because only two days before she had been adamantly against it. It only reached her knees though. And she wore no veil, Neville wasn't walking with her. There were no bridesmaids or flower girls.

It wasn't a traditional wedding, that much was clear.

And, though I knew Al and Alice were a good match, I couldn't be happy for them as Alice joined my cousin and the magical official pulled out his wand. Because, well, they hadn't wanted this. It wasn't their choice.

My mum nudged me with her shoulder and smiled reassuringly from where she sat next to me. Not for the first time, I got the eery feeling that she could read my very thoughts.

The official began muttering in dulcet tones as a golden thread snaked out of his wand and began to wind its way around my friends' arms. I closed my eyes, tilting my head back and zoning out from the wedding, letting my mind wander.

The sun was surprisingly warm for early March and the flower-filled garden had a gorgeous aroma. There were even distant birds tweeting, in the perfect wedding cliche. I wondered if they sounded like this all year round.

I wondered if perhaps living here wouldn't be so bad after all.

 _No_. I sat up straight, snapping out of my thoughts and scowling at myself. Just because there's one pretty garden here Rose.

I cast a glance at my mum, whose gaze was fixed intently on the soon-to-be-married couple. I looked at her forearm. The place where- though it was covered by her sleeve- I knew there to be a scar from her time at war.

I knew what it said and I knew who had given it to her. And I knew where.

A shiver went down my spine and I glanced around at the house surrounding us. The grandeur and beauty of it seemed no longer there. Instead, only dark looming stone.

Who knows what sort of horrors had happened within those walls. I shuddered to think.

"You may kiss the bride!"

Al leaned in a kissed Alice on the cheek, sending a cheer up around the not-so-small gathering. Hannah jumped up to hug her daughter and new son-in-law as the rest of us sparked idle chatter.

* * *

There was no reception per say, but after the wedding most of the attendees went back to the Burrow where we played exploding snap and drank hot chocolate. Of course, Malfoy didn't join us. And I can't say I was too disappointed.

It was 1 o Clock before I finally collapsed in my bed back at a Hogwarts. Well, I say _my_ bed. It was Dom's really.

I couldn't face Malfoy on the best of days, certainly not sleep in the same bed as him. But now... now we were actually _married_. For some reason, it made the situation a hundred times worse.

* * *

 **A/N: Alright, so I used the word 'nick' in this chapter and I'm not sure if it's used in America and other places, so I just wanted to say, in case you didn't know, in Britain 'nick' is slang for 'steal'. :) Next update will be Tuesday. Thanks for reading and please leave a review!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: None of this story is mine and I'm making no profit from it.**

 **A/N: Sorry for the lack of Scorose in this story guys. But what can I say, it's a slow burner.**

* * *

 **Chapter 9:**

I woke up the next morning with a pounding headache. Which was odd, because I was pretty sure you couldn't get a hangover from hot chocolate.

I opened my eyes, only to screw them tightly shut again. Sunlight was streaming into the room, which was ridiculous because the curtains should have been closed and it was far too early to be being woken up on a Saturday morning.

At that moment, the bathroom door opened and I opened my eyes to watch Dom appear, her hair wrapped in a towel and her eyes alight with excitement.

"Oh good, Rose, you're awake." She said, jumping on the bed. "I can't _wait_ for today."

I frowned, giving her a blank stare. She rolled her eyes.

" _Really_ Rose, you have the memory of a Cornish Dragon, how have you forgotten this?" She told me, letting her hair down and beginning to dry it with her wand. "We're going for dress fittings with Vic today!"

Oops. I _had_ completely forgotten. Honestly, I would have much-preferred spending my day eating chocolates and feeling sorry for myself and my current life situation. But, seeing how excited Dom was, I decided not to be the one to put a damper on her mood.

"Oh yeah!" I beamed, dragging myself out of bed and heading into the bathroom. "I can't wait to see what Vic'll choose for us."

In the shower, my headache and sleeplessness slowly began to wash away and I saw the day before in a sudden clarity. I had gotten _married_. To _Scorpius Malfoy_.

What in Merlin's saggy left testicle was the ministry thinking? It was insane.

 _Oh Merlin_ , I pressed the heel of my hands against my eyes as if this were all a dream I could wake up from. But the hot shower water stayed on my back and my predicament remained a weight on my shoulders- I wasn't sleeping.

And, we all knew what the second step was... _babies_.

A wave of nausea hit me and I began to sway on my feet. How long had they given us again?

Three years?

Perhaps this whole stupid law would be overturned before the three years were up. Maybe we would never have to reach that point. I _prayed_ we would never have to reach that point.

I turned off the shower, cast a drying spell over myself and dressed quickly. Suddenly thankful for Vic and her dress fitting. I definitely needed a distraction today.

* * *

The Great Hall was surprisingly busy for 9 O clock on a weekend. But I was grateful for it as I slid into the Gryffindor table between Lily and Alice.

Noone mentioned my recent... contract with a certain blonde haired Slytherin. I was grateful for that, too. Even Hugo kept quiet about it, and he usually had no tact. The chatter at the table was centred around what dresses Vic would have picked for us. So, naturally, I let myself zone out of the conversation.

I can't lie, of course. Usually, the prospect of being a bridesmaid and wearing a pretty dress and spending the day with my cousins would have excited me. But, well, current events had put a bit of a damper on my spirit.

Not to mention the stress of exams was getting to me. With all that was going on, I had less time for studying than I had hoped. That wasn't doing much for my state of mind.

Or my hair, actually. Which somehow seemed to get even frizzier when I was stressed.

"Rose," Hugo nudged my shoulder, dragging me out of my thoughts.

"What?" I replied, turning to look at him, only to see that his focus was trained on something past my shoulder. I frowned, spinning around where I sat to see Lorcan making his way over to us.

 _Shit_ , I thought. _Oh Merlin_ , this was not going to be an easy conversation.

"Hi Rose," he greeted, I shot back the warmest smile I could possibly muster.

"Hi." The word tasted false in my mouth. I was pretending nothing was wrong. Like we weren't both married to different people. Not to mention I had been kind of neglecting him recently.

To be fair to myself, though, I had been neglecting everyone. Not just him.

"I was wondering if we could take a walk around the Lake today, we haven't been spending much time together recently."

"Yeah! That would be-" I cast a look behind me at Dom, silently cursing my quick mouth and slow memory. "Wait, no, sorry. I can't... we're going to try on our bridesmaids dresses for Vic's wedding."

For a moment I saw the crestfallen look in his eyes and a stab of guilt when through me.

"I'm _really_ sorry Lorcan-"

"No, it's fine Rose," he forced a smile. "I'll see you soon, though?"

"Yeah definitely," I replied, squeezing his hand as he turned and left. As soon as he was out of the Great Hall, I turned back to the table and put my head in my hands. "Great," I complained aloud to my family. "Now my husband _and_ my boyfriend hate me." It was supposed to be a little bit funny, but the reality of it hit me like a tonne of bricks.

 _Well_ , I thought, _Wave goodbye to your love life Rose_.

"Alright girls," Dom began, standing up. "Let's get going before Rose wallows in self-pity for so long she can't get out."

I rolled my eyes, but joined her anyway, rising to my feet. Together, me, Dom, Lily and Lucy left the great hall for Gryffindor tower. Where we used the floo network once more, honestly, I had been flooing in and out of Hogwarts so often recently that it hardly even made me dizzy anymore.

One moment, I was standing in the Gryffindor common room fireplace. Next, I was tumbling out into the leaky cauldron. It took my eyes a moment to adjust to the dark, musty interior of the old pub. But eventually, my vision focused and I saw that Fleur and Vic had already arrived. When they saw me, they rushed over to help me brush the soot off myself.

"Rose, my dear," Fleur took me into a tight hug after apparently deciding I was cleaned off enough.

"Hi Aunt Fleur, it's good to see you," I replied, hearing my cousins floo into the room behind me.

"Eet is good to see you too, my dear." She returned my sentiment, but she was already rushing off, tutting over Dom and her sooty hair.

"Don't mind her," Vic told me, engulfing me in a lavender-scented hug. "She's just stressed at the moment, what with /both/ of her daughters getting married around the same time."

I nodded, watching as Dom brushed her mother off and rolled her eyes. "How about you," I asked Vic. "Are you stressed?"

"No," Vic replied, flicking her impossibly long strawberry-blonde hair over her shoulder and adopting a dreamy tone in her voice. "I'm just... _happy_. Me and Teddy are so happy."

She did look happy. Her baby bump wasn't yet visible, but there was definitely something different. Her skin was sort of... glowing. If that's possible? I'm not sure.

Just then, the door to the Leaky Cauldron opened and Molly and Roxy walked inside. Receiving a loud greeting from the Weasleys already here and a squeal and a hug from Lucy.

"My dears! Eet ees lovely to see you!" Fleur greeted the two new arrivals, hugging them briefly, before turning and heading in the direction of the entrance to Diagon Alley. "I am sorry, but we must hurry on. I 'ave so much to do today." She explained over her shoulder.

I shared a look with Dom, who only raised her eyebrows before catching up with her mother. The rest of us trailed behind, chatting and catching up as Fleur tapped her wand on the correct bricks and revealed Diagon alley to us.

No matter how many time I visited, I always got a little high of excitement out of coming here.

We walked down to near the end of the street where one of Vic's own clothes shop chains was placed. With this and Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, it seemed it wouldn't be long before my family had taken over the whole street.

The day went by in a whirlwind of frills and skirts and excitement. The dresses Vic had picked out for us were, naturally, gorgeous. Who would expect anything less from a fashion designer?

We even got to see her try on the wedding dress she was making for herself. Even half-finished it was pretty stunning.

So when me and my family finally bundled into the Great Hall again, we were all buzzing. Buzzing from the day out, but also buzzing for what awaited us the next day. A wedding of massive proportions, as Dom had been telling us all day.

She'd been describing it more like one big party, instead of a wedding. But I wasn't about to complain. With everything going on, Merlin knew I needed a distraction. I couldn't wait to just let loose.

Well, not _too_ loose. My whole family would be there. I couldn't even get that drunk... not with my parents about.

I squeezed in between my brother and Lily on the Gryffindor table, before my eyes- against my better judgement- flicked over the Slytherin table, where they made contact with the _last_ person I wanted to think about right now.

Okay... maybe I would have to get a _bit_ drunk.

* * *

The next morning I was woken- once again- by an excited Dom. But this time I was pretty sure I knew why.

"It's my wedding day!" My cousin squealed as she sat on me and shook my shoulders.

"I know," I laughed, wriggling to get free from underneath her weight. She rolled off and bounced around the small dorm room.

"What time is the ceremony again?" I asked her, dragging myself up into a sitting position.

"It starts at two at the Burrow, but we're all going at 10 to help get it ready and all." She responded, a dreamy look in her eyes as she played with the ends of her strawberry-blonde hair.

I frowned and checked my watch, "It's nearly 10 now," I told her.

"Really?" She asked, "oh well... we better get going then."

I got up and changed quickly, eager to see all of my family again and to start doing something. I knew my mind wandered when it wasn't busy, and a wandering mind wasn't something I needed right now.

Dom dragged me through the castle at a pace I wouldn't have thought was humanly possible. We arrived at the Gryffindor common room in no time. And, before I knew what was happening, I was stumbling out into the burrow of the kitchen and Dom was stumbling in behind me.

Usually, I would be greeted by my family. Or... at least my mum and dad would stop what they were doing and come to talk to me.

Today, though, it seemed there was something more important on everyone else's minds. Molly was bustling- well, it was more like charging- around the kitchen, brandishing a wooden spoon at anyone who vaguely got in her way.

Meanwhile, I could hear my dad yelling upstairs. Which I figured was probably something to do with the ghoul in the attic.

My mum was also in the kitchen, putting up decorations with her wand at an almost alarming speed. Though, it seemed like everyone else was in the garden.

"Hi mum," I said, as I walked past her and towards the door.

"Oh, hi Rosie," she returned, not even taking her eyes from her decorating.

"Hi Aunt Hermione," Dom greeted too.

"Oh, hello Dom dear," was the offhand response, whilst Nanna Weasley appeared to have not heard either of us.

I smiled, this was the kind of chaos I loved.

Just as we went for the door, it burst open- and there Fred and James stood. Each carrying about five dresses under plastic covers and sweating visibly.

"Aunt Fleur!" James called, despite his heavy panting.

In reply, Fleur came running down the stairs. " _There_ you are!" She scolded, hurriedly taking the dresses from them. "I sent you boys to get ze dresses _hours_ ago." Fred opened his mouth as if to argue, but Fleur had already disappeared up the stairs again, dragging Dom with her.

I snorted at the dumbfounded look on my cousins' faces and followed them as they left the building. They rolled their eyes in exasperation. "She only sent us about 30 minutes ago," Fred told me, only making me grin wider.

Most of the rest of my family- and Byron- were using magic to put up a white marquee in front of the house- a task led by Ginny. They didn't break their concentration as we walked up.

"Mum," James greeted.

"Yes, what is it James?" came the redhead's strained response.

"What can we do to help?"

"Well," Ginny responded, casting a quick look over her shoulder as she thought. "You could go get the tables out of the barn."

And off we went to the barn, wands at the ready.

The next few hours were a blur of faces and yelling and chores. Somewhere around 12 O Clock, I was dragged off by Fleur to a room near the top of the house. Dom and Alice- her only other bridesmaid- were there. Vic was there too, but she was just helping with styling Alice's hair.

Dom wasn't even dressed. So Merlin knows what she had been doing for the last two hours. I mean, her hair and makeup were done. And I suppose she'd had a shower. But that can't have taken two hours, right?

Fleur plonked me down on the bed and busied herself with my untameable mass of hair. I sort of felt sorry for her. She kept tutting to herself and muttering words in French, which of course, Dom and Vic understood, but I didn't.

I think she was probably swearing though, judging by the look on her face.

My hair was tugged this way and that by Aunt Fleur's wand. And when- twenty minutes later- she stepped back to admire her handiwork and smiled triumphantly, my eyes were watering from the pain.

Seriously, no hair, however nice, was worth the torment.

Fleur lifted up a mirror and held it up in front of my face and I couldn't help the way my eyebrows shot up into my hairline in surprise.

I looked different- _so_ \- different. My hair was half up, half down, but _all_ smooth. _Smooth_?! That was not a word I had ever used to describe my hair before. But it was.

Not completely straight, it was still kind of curly, but there was no frizz in sight.

I allowed myself to grin up at my aunt. "Thank you," I told her.

"You look wonderful, Rose," she told me, causing a blush to spread across my cheeks. Because, well, I did _feel_ sort of wonderful. "Now, Victoire, do her Makeup whilst I help your sister with her dress."

Dom perked up at this and jumped up from where she'd been sitting as Victoire turned her concentration on me and my face.

Roughly an hour and a half later, it was 2 O clock and I was standing outside the marquee with my cousins, waiting to greet the guests and show them to their seats. Dom was still upstairs, since she was the bride, obviously.

Hugo stood next to me, fidgeting with his tie and shifting from foot to foot. I tutted and slapped his hand away, tucking his tie back into his dress robes where it was supposed to be.

"What's up?" I asked, brushing off some grass which had somehow found its way onto his shoulder. "Why are you so fidgety?"

"I'm not," he scowled at me. "Nothing's up."

I raised my eyebrows to show that I didn't believe him, but I decided not to push it.

Just then, Alice's family appeared. Hannah, Neville and Frank walked up to the tent. They greeted their daughter as I grinned and waved and Hugo showed them to their seats and talked animatedly with Frank. In Hugo's absence, Al came and stood next to me.

"You look nice," I told him, only half paying attention.

"So do you," he replied, yawning.

I reached up to try and flatten a particularly rebellious part of his hair, but it just sprung back into place as soon as I took my hand away. I laughed, "No change there then." I had been trying to flatten his hair for big occasions since we were little. Our Hogwarts sorting, his first date. It had never worked.

"Mum's been fussing over it all day," he rolled his eyes, subconsciously reaching up to ruffle his jet-black hair.

Then, it seemed as if someone had opened the floodgates, guests started pouring in. Al was busied with showing Andromeda to her seat and soon enough I was whisked away by guests too.

I was walking back from showing Aunt Fleurs sister to her seat when I saw them, The Mafloy's, looming at the entrance of the tent. Well, Draco wasn't there, just Astoria and Scorpius.

My heart dropped and I turned away in a desperate attempt to hide my face. But all of my other cousins were busy and I was the only one not showing anyone else-

Alice walked past me, giving me a knowing wink. Behind me, I heard her greet the two, "Hello Mrs Malfoy, Scorpius, can I show you to your seats."

Not for the first time, I thanked Merlin that Alice Longbottom was my friend.

Why was I avoiding him? I wasn't quite sure myself. But after us getting married on Friday, I would have rather fought a dragon than face him.

Perhaps it was childish, but then again, I was only 17. I had never planned on getting married at 17.

Why was he here anyway? I had planned on a fun, Malfoy-free day. Why would he come to Dom and Byron's wedding? As far as I knew, he and Byron didn't have any sort of relationship and Dom hated Mafloy almost as much as I did.

"What's _he_ doing here," Fred asked, coming up and standing next to me, his eyes were trained on the same platinum blond head that was causing me a frightening level of distress.

"I don't know," I replied, rolling my eyes at my own predicament. Couldn't the universe give me a break?

"Oh well Rose," Fred replied, clapping me on the shoulder in what I'm sure he thought was a comforting manner. "Look on the bright side, at least his dad isn't here."

He made a good point.

Lorcan and his family came into the tent then. I breathed out in relief, glad for the distraction as I made my way over to the Scamanders.

"Hi Rose," Lorcan said, kissing me on the cheek. "You look nice." I grinned up at him, feeling a blush crawl across my cheeks, despite the fact that he was my boyfriend and it was totally normal for him to say stuff like that.

"So do you," I replied, gesturing to his dress robes. He hadn't opted to completely follow the Lovegood tradition of wearing yellow to weddings, but his tie was still an almost blinding sunshine colour.

Luna, however, had not held back. I showed the family to their seats, fully aware of all the eyes following the brightly-adorned family through the room.

It was about 15 minutes later when I was waiting outside the tent with Dom and Alice.

"Okay," Bill told us, emerging from the tent, "they're ready."

Dom took a deep breath, her hands shaking slightly as they held her bouquet. I squeezed her in a quick hug before me and Alice entered the tent together and began down the aisle to the traditional wizarding wedding music.

Hugo snickered at me as I went past, but I heard mum hit him lightly with one of the wedding programmes and smirked to myself.

Eventually, after the most self-conscious walk of my life, me and Alice found ourselves at the front of the room with Byron and his groomsmen. We took our places slightly to the side of the main podium, and then Dom and Bill walked in.

The room collectively held it's breath, and out of the corner of my eye I saw Byron start grinning.

Dom _did_ look stunning. The effect she was having on the room didn't have anything to do with her veela blood. This time- it was all her.

Uncle Bill was staring Byron down. And by the time they finally reached the podium, I was surprised Byron hadn't just turned and ran. I probably would have if I'd been in his place. Bill was terrifying- and his scar only made him more formidable.

But Byron stayed where he was, so Dom joined him on the podium, Bill went and sat down, and the ceremony began.

Wizard marriage ceremonies seemed to be something I was now well versed in, but I still remained in rapt attention until the officiator said, "You may now kiss the bride," and the room started cheering.

I couldn't deny- I was glad when it was over. My feet were killing me, I wasn't used to heels this high. When it was done, Arthur waved his wand and immediately the seating was flying out of the tent as tables and chairs replaced them around the edges of the space. The lighting dimmed and- seemingly out of nowhere- music started up.

Byron and Dom were dancing alone for the first song, but after that, everyone swarmed the dance floor. Well... not everyone. I stayed at a table, sipping champagne and laughing at my cousins as they made fools of themselves dancing.

My gaze slid to the side then, to another table, where Scorpius Malfoy was sitting alone. He caught my eye and, as I watched, got up and made as though he was going to come over.

I panicked, looking around frantically for any way out when, as if by magic, Lorcan appeared in front of me.

"Come on Rose," he said, offering me his hand, "let's go dance." I grinned in relief and put my hand in his, getting to my feet. Offer Lorcan's shoulder, I watched Malfoy frown and return to his seat.

Lorcan dragged me off into the mass of bodies in the centre of the room. With the deafening music and constant twirling, it was hard to think about anything except the boy in front of me. A boy I had missed for the past few weeks.

It was during a slow dance, when he leant in and closed his eyes, snaking his hands around my waist. I was about to lose myself in the moment, but then I caught a glimpse of Astoria in the corner and I snapped out of it.

"Not here," I whispered in Lorcan's ear, before taking his hand and beginning to lead him out of the tent. Luckily, Astoria had been facing away from us, but what if she decided to turn around? I felt like being with Lorcan was betraying her in some way.

Which was ridiculous. Me and her son had been forced together, neither of us wanted this. But still, she had been so welcoming to me. So I led Lorcan away from everyone, somewhere around the back of the Burrow where no one would see us.

I felt safe in his arms and in the darkening landscape of the English countryside. So this time, when he leaned in, I reached up to meet him, winding my arms around his neck as our lips met.

He tasted like champagne, which made me subconsciously smile into his lips. He pulled back in response and grinned at me. "What?"

"Nothing," I replied, pulling him back down so his lips covered my own. As we moved against each other, for the first time in a long time, I felt like everything was going to be okay.

There was a noise from inside the house and we instinctively sprung apart from each other, panting and blushed. Seconds later, Hugo poked his head out of the back door. "Oh, Rose." He began, evidently a bit surprised to find me there. "Mum sent me to look for you, foods out." And with one last look between me and Lorcan, my little brother disappeared back inside the house.

As if on cue, my stomach rumbled, filling the silence. Lorcan laughed- a genuine sound that had me grinning too.

"We better go back then," Lorcan suggested, putting an arm around my shoulder as we headed back to the marquee. "Or I'm gonna have a hungry Rose Weasley on my hands."

When I laughed in response, it was real. And I suddenly realised that closing Lorcan out these past few weeks must have only made me more miserable, I wouldn't do that again.

We entered the tent and his arm slipped off of my shoulder as we went our separate ways. I headed over to a table mostly populated by my cousins, praying that my blush wouldn't betray what I had just been doing.

Roxy passed me a full plate as I sat down, and I wasted no time in tucking into the meal. It was only when, 10 minutes later, I finished every last morsel on my plate and finally looked around, that I noticed Daisy was on the table.

Once again, being pointedly ignored by James. With no one to talk to, she was staring at her plate in silence, a downcast look on her face.

"Hi Daisy," I began. Making conversation with people I didn't know very well had never been my strong suit, but I knew I had to at least try.

"Oh hi..." She trailed off.

"Rose," I supplied.

"Oh, of course. Sorry, Rose."

"It's fine," I waved off her apologies. "So anyway... um.." I racked my brains for something to say. "What- what do you work as?" I asked eventually, wishing- not for the first time- that I had been blessed with the same charisma that most of my cousins seemed to possess.

"Oh, I work at Flourish and Blotts." She replied, "But it's hopefully just temporary. I want to do something with animals in the future."

"Oh yeah, what kind of animals?"

"I'm not sure, but I'm thinking I could be a magical creature negotiator for the ministry. You know, those people that go in and make peace agreements with centaurs or mermaids."

"Wow," I grinned, Daisy hadn't previously stricken me as the adventurous type. "That sounds kind of dangerous."

She blushed, grinning sheepishly back at me. "Yeah.. well."

At that moment, Dom swirled past in her mass of white dress. "Dance with me, Rosie!" She said in a sing-song voice before grabbing my hand and dragging me to the middle of the room. I cast an apologetic glance at Daisy, but she only smiled and waved me away.

Grandpa restarted the music and soon the floor was full of people again. Dom twirled me around a few times, but I was having a hard time avoiding stepping on her dress- and my heels were _killing_ me, so as soon as I could I made an excuse and slipped away.

I had intended to restart up my conversation with Daisy, but she was gone by the time I had returned to the table. So I sat heavily down in one of the chairs and basked in loneliness for a moment.

My eyes were closed, but I sensed someone sitting at the table across from me. I groaned internally, knowing without even looking who it would be.

"Avoiding me, are you Weasley?" He said, and I reluctantly opened my eyes. His own focus was trained straight ahead, at the crowd in the middle of the room.

"No," I replied, fixing a frown and aiming it at the side of his head.

He let out a snort of laughter, but it lacked humour. "You're a terrible liar."

"I'm not lying."

"Yes, you are."

"Well, what do want from me?" I leant in across the table, practically hissing at him. Usually, I may have been abashed at being caught in a lie, but the small buzz of champagne ran in my veins and gave me courage.

He didn't reply at first, just dragged his eyes away from the crowd to stare hard at me. "Nothing," he said, eventually. Before getting up and walking away without another word.

Ughh. I let my head fall into my hands heavy. Was this really my future? A life with _him_?

"Here," Roxy sat down beside me and I lifted my head to see her place a full glass of firewhiskey onto the table. "You look like you need this."

She was right, I did, so I grabbed the glass and took a big gulp, ignoring the burning sensation it made as it slid down my throat.

"Yes, Rose!"

"That's our girl," James and Fred both sat down across from me, voicing their approval and grinning. I picked up the glass again.

The rest of the evening was a little hazy because, as you may have guessed, I don't handle my alcohol very well. And by the time I decided I'd had enough, I'm pretty sure Roxy had fed me at least two and a half glasses of firewhiskey.

When I stumbled back into Hogwarts in the early hours of the morning, I was having to really focus on staying upright. Not only because of the alcohol though, my heels weren't helping. Halfway back from the Gryffindor common rooms, I decided to carry them.

I couldn't go back to Dom's room tonight, since, well, it was her wedding night and all. So I had resigned myself to another night on the sofa. Earlier, I had contemplated facing up to Malfoy and deciding to just share the bed. But after the conversation at the table, that was out of the question.

Besides, I only just managed to make it to our little common room- where I dropped my coat and bag on the floor and collapsed onto one of the sofas.

* * *

 **A/N: Hey guys, hope you liked the chapter! Please leave a little review, it means a lot.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: None of this story is mine and I'm making no profit from it.**

 **A/N: Chapter 10 already? That's mad. Also, I wanted to address some of the comments from last weeks chapter. Yes, Rose is being unfair on Scorp- however, if I had written out the first six years of their time at Hogwarts then it would be much more understandable. From this story alone, Scorpius looks a bit more like an innocent bystander than he would if I'd written down the first six years of them both tormenting each other- but that's my bad I guess. Even so... yes, she is supposed to be being a little unfair.**

* * *

 **Chapter 10:**

I woke up on the sofa, curled up under my coat and the little warmth it supplied. I frowned, feeling the material between my fingers. In the haze of last night I could have sworn I'd dropped it on the floor.

But then again, how could I be sure of anything that had happened last night?

I winced as the memories came flooding back to me and hid my face in embarrassment. I had gotten drunk. _Properly_ drunk. In front of my _entire_ family.

Oh, well, I decided. It was Monday morning, back to reality. Back to school. I took a moment to thank Merlin that I wouldn't have to face my mum.

I dragged myself to my feet, before clutching the edge of the sofa as my head veered dangerously and a pounding began against my skull. _Great_. I thought. The last thing I needed right now was a hangover.

"Wow, Weasley, you really can't handle your drink." A voice came from behind me, humour lacing his tone. I spun around, before instantly regretting it as my head swam violently. I clutched my head and squeezed my eyes shut, earning a laugh from the blond boy watching me.

"Sod off Malfoy," I replied, but I didn't have it in me to get angry.

There was a moments silence before he spoke again. "Go to bed, Weasley."

"What?" I squinted at him, not allowing me to open my eyes too wide as the sunlight filtering in through the windows made me feel slightly nauseous. "I can't go to bed I have classes to go to and... and..." I trailed off, finding it worryingly hard to string my thoughts together.

"You won't be learning anything in this state, just go to bed."

I was going to protest but, honestly, going to bed really did sound appealing. Besides, when I opened my eyes and focused my vision again, he was gone.

I decided to get some sleep, since he was right- I wouldn't be able to concentrate in lessons. Not to mention it would be nice to sleep in my own bed for once.

* * *

I woke again at about midday, feeling much better. But- well- not smelling too good. So I had a quick shower and got dressed, before heading down to lunch. My spirits already brightened by the fact that I would at least attend one lesson that day.

I made it all the way to the entrance hall without coming across anyone, but just as I was about to go through the door to the great hall, it opened and I came face to face with Professor McGonagall.

 _Merlin's balls_. I knew there was no way she hadn't noticed my absence.

"Miss Weasley," she said, halting me in mid-stride. My mind started whirring, dreaming up excuses. "We missed you in transfiguration earlier, and I was sad to hear from Mr Malfoy that you were feeling unwell, he thought perhaps you had food poisoning." There was a glint in the old professor's eyes as she spoke.

"Oh," I replied, taken aback, but trying to recover as quickly as possible. "Yes, professor. But I'm feeling better now."

"I'm glad to hear it," she smiled knowingly at me, before turning and leaving. Once again, I got the unnerving impression that Minerva McGonagall could see into my soul.

I squeezed into place between my brother and Lily, my head pounding again- but this time from the idea of having to answer all their prying questions.

But, thank Merlin, this morning all the attention seemed to be on Dom and her wedding. Which was perfect for me and perfect for Dom, if I know her. So I was able to chew on a chicken wing without being disturbed.

Even Hugo didn't ask where I'd been or call me out on my extensive drinking the night before. Which allowed my mind to wonder.

Malfoy had lied for me. He had made me go to bed to sleep off my hangover and had lied for me. And that night at the Burrow he had been almost amiable and last night he had tried to talk to me and I had been ignoring him. Just blatantly ignoring him.

I felt immature all of a sudden. And, for the billionth time, I wished I was one of those people who could just apologize when they did something wrong.

If I was one of those people, I mused, I would have probably been saved some pretty nasty times in my life. Like that time in first year when me and Al had fallen out over him being sorted into Slytherin.

I had known I was in the wrong, but I hadn't wanted to say sorry. Which led to months of us not speaking to each other.

Perhaps this was a situation like this.

Perhaps, this time, I would have to swallow my pride and apologize.

Well, eventually. First came potions. And then, studying.

* * *

It was dark outside when I finally packed my things away and left the library. A part of me, a bigger part of me than I care to admit, was hoping he'd be asleep when I made it back to the room.

But the logical side of me knew that was ridiculous. It was only 8 o Clock.

Still, I held out hope, right until I opened the door to our dorm and heard the shower running.

I groaned internally, before dumping my bag on the floor and sitting down on the edge of the bed. Well, at least him being in the shower gave me time to get my thoughts straight.

Not much time, it seemed, since moments later the shower shut off. There were a few moments of shuffling sounds before the door opened. I reflexively got to my feet, feeling as though I was intruding in his bedroom, before I remembered that it was my dorm too.

He emerged, hair wet and only with a towel covering the bottom half of his body. He stopped short when he saw me standing awkwardly in the middle of the room. I averted my eyes out of instinct, to which he rolled his own and walked past me.

"Surprised to see you here Weasley," he began, grabbing some clothes out of his trunk.

"Yes well..." I returned, finding myself at a loss for words. He raised his eyebrows at me expectantly.

"Something to say?"

"Yes, actually, I..." My thoughts trailed off again. "I wanted to say sorry."

His eyebrows shot up in surprise and I rolled my eyes. "No need to look that shocked Malfoy, I _can_ admit when I'm wrong."

He scoffed, which earned nothing in a way of response from me.

"So where have you been then?" He asked, his tone of voice telling me how little he really cared. "Bunking with Scamander?"

My face morphed into a frown at his mention of Lorcan. "Obviously not," I replied in indignation, "Not that it's any of your business, but I've been sharing with Dom most nights. Though I don't see that being much of an option anymore." My mind wandered to the idea of whatever my cousin and Byron would be doing in that bed now that they were newlyweds. I resisted the urge to gag.

He nodded, and then we were plunged into silence, standing 4 feet apart and looking at each other. I thought about the awkwardness of it all and had the sudden urge to run from the room screaming and never come back.

Then there was a loud, violent banging on the door and voice sounded out, "Oi, Scorp, get out here." It was Tyler Zabini.

"What is it?" Malfoy replied, his gaze finally shifting away from me and to the door behind.

"Just get out here you tool," came the unnecessarily loud response, then we heard his footsteps retreating from the door, indicating that that was all he was going to say.

Malfoy exhaled in exasperation, before walking straight past me and leaving the room. I was alone. For the first time ever, I thanked Merlin for the existence of Tyler Zabini.

Alone, finally, I decided to go to bed. It was only 8:30, but honestly, I was still tired from the night before. Not to mention, I wanted to be asleep when Malfoy finally came back in. I didn't really want to face him again.

So I changed quickly, slipped into the bed and curled up beneath the covers.

Turns out, I was still awake when he finally re-entered the dark dormitory. But I kept my eyes shut and my breathing steady and did what I hoped was my best impression of a sleeping Rose.

I think he bought it because, after pausing for a moment in the middle of the room, I sensed him slide into the bed beside me.

My stomach tightened in discomfort, but I told it to grow up. I was just sharing a bed with the boy, nothing else. Besides, I thought to myself as I drifted off, the warmth now radiating from beside me _was_ kind of comforting.

* * *

When I woke up in the morning, I felt more relaxed than I had in weeks. My legs were tangled with other legs, which made them warm- a feeling which flooded up my body. I huddled further into the duvet, sighing in contentment.

Wait, who's legs are they?

My eyes flew open and I shot into a sitting position, detaching myself from the boy sleeping next to me. "Oh, Merlin," I groaned aloud.

Malfoy shifted beside me, so before he could wake up properly, I dragged myself out of the bed and into the bathroom for a shower. Something about me felt off like I had something to be guilty about.

But I didn't.

When I left the bathroom, Malfoy was awake, sprawled leisurely on the bed, already dressed. I ignored him, but his eyes followed me through the room as I went to collect my bag.

"Is there a reason you're staring at me?" I snapped after having him watch me go back and forth through the room about five times, collecting various things.

Malfoy, completely disregarding my question, smirked smugly and replied, "Meet my parents Weasley?"

"Wh-what?" I replied, stopping in my tracks, completely taken aback by his words- so much so that I might have thought I'd misheard him if his smirk hadn't widened in response to my shock.

"Come meet my parents," he repeated simply, his amusement only seeming to grow.

"I've already met your parents," I replied, gathering my composure.

"You haven't met my dad."

W-well I..." I scrambled for some sort of response. He was right, I hadn't ever met Draco Malfoy- my own father-in-law. But I had kind of been hoping it could stay that way for as long as possible. Uncle Harry had always seemed to hold a strange sort of respect for the man, but none of my other family seemed to share the same view- apart from Al of course. The things I'd heard from my dad, however. That was a different story.

Although now I come to think of it, dad likes to exaggerate a lot.

"Your parents can come too," he continued, swinging his legs off of the bed and standing up. "I know my mum has been dying to meet yours."

"I..." I was about to come up with some excuse or another, but then I reminded myself of how I had decided to be mature about this situation only the previous day. So I forced a smile onto my face and replied, "Yeah, that would be great."

There was a pause, then he returned my smile and said, "Ok."

Then, before I could dig myself into any more holes, I turned and left.

Lessons were tedious that day, all apart from Defence against the Dark Arts, which I had with Al.

"Scorpius told me you agreed to meet his parents," My cousin said as we stood across from each other.

"Stop talking," I replied, focusing all my attention on trying to complete the task we had been set, which was to non-verbally disarm our partner. So far, I hadn't been having much luck.

Al rolled his eyes but shut up all the same, allowing me to concentrate. I frowned hard at the wand in his hand, practically screaming the incantation in my mind. But I wasn't getting anywhere. Eventually, I threw my hands up in exasperation and stepped back.

Al smirked, "Perhaps you're just a little distracted today Rose," he wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

"I agreed to meet his parents, Al, I'm not in love with him." I fished my wand out of my pocket to allow his to attempt the non-verbal charm on me. "Don't forget I already _have_ a boyfriend."

"I'm just saying," he shrugged, "It seems things are going better today. You even slept in your own room- that's new."

I rolled my eyes, "Does Malfoy tell you everything?"

My cousin shrugged again in response. "He's my best mate."

I opened my mouth to respond, but a pointed look from Professor Green told us to get back to work, so I shut it again and let Al try and disarm me.

It didn't take him very long before he had my wand flying through the air. Which only made me more frustrated at myself and my incompetence.

I scowled as, once more, I tried to disarm my cousin using only my mind. Why was this so difficult? We had been doing basic non-verbal spells since sixth year. And expelliarmus was about as basic as you could get.

I huffed dramatically after another two minutes of intense concentration and even more intense failure.

"It's okay Rosie," Al told me, sensing my growing temper. "I'm sure you're just having a bad day."

He was probably right, but despite that, I left Defense Against the Dark Arts in a cloudy mood and determined to get the stupid charm right.

It was the evening and I was in our little common room, pouring over a book on non-verbal spells I'd gotten from the library, when the door opened and in walked Scorpius Malfoy. I glanced up for a second, before I returned my attention to the text in front of me.

"Oh, what a surprise," he began, sauntering into the room, "She's reading again."

"Ha ha," I replied, monotonous, expecting him to walk past me and into the dorm, but instead, he sat down on the sofa across from me.

I continued in silence, but I could feel his eyes on the top of my head as I studied. I thought perhaps if I ignored him he would leave, but after about a minute, it began to look like I was wrong.

"Can I help you?" I asked, looking up from my book and raising my eyebrows expectantly at him.

"No." He replied, smirking in satisfaction as he saw me growing agitated.

"Are you just going to sit there and watch me study then?"

He shrugged.

"Well, please don't, it's distracting."

"I'm sorry, Weasley, but like I've said before, I can't help how insanely attractive I am."

I scoffed. "You're ridiculous."

He flashed me a grin and, despite myself, I let out a short laugh.

"What are you reading, Weasley?"

I held up the front of the book half-heartedly so he could see. "Non-verbal spells."

He pulled a face in response, "Why?"

" _Because_ ," I laced my voice thick with exasperation. "I'm trying to learn how to do them." Then I stuck my nose very deliberately back in my book, trying to send a clear message for him to stop distracting me.

" _You_ can't do non-verbal spells?" He asked, surprised.

"No, I can. Or- well- I _could_ , but no, not anymore it seems." I frowned. No- there was no way I was actually losing my ability. I was just having a bad day.

Unable to wallow in my own failure any longer, I snapped the book shut and placed it on the table before getting to my feet.

"Where are you going?" Malfoy asked from where he sat, leaning back leisurely on the sofa.

"To see Lorcan," I replied, biting my tongue to stop myself from adding, 'not that it's any of your business.'

Then I left quickly, suddenly very eager to see my boyfriend after the stress of my waning magic skills. I was sure he could take my mind off it. Besides, for the first time since this blasted marriage law had been announced, things were actually going well with Lorcan.

When I got to his common room, Lorcan was sitting on one of the sofas near the fire. When I came in the door, he looked up and got to his feet. "Rose?"

"Hi."

"What are you doing here?" His eyes shifted to the door of his dorm.

I furrowed my brow in response, "Is this a bad time?"

He seemed to compose himself then, his eyes stopped shifting and he even managed a slight smile. "No, actually, I was going to come to find you in a minute." I went and sat down with him. "I think we should talk."

"Uh oh," I joked, but he wasn't laughing.

Instantly, the mood of the room shifted and my heart was pounding against my ribcage. "Oh?" I frowned properly this time, but I wouldn't let myself speak anymore, knowing my shaking voice would betray everything.

"The thing is... Rose," Lorcan rubbed the back of his neck and looked away, uncomfortable and clearly unsure of how to continue. "Me and Annette have decided to give this marriage thing... a proper go."

I sat, stunned into silence. It felt like the floor had just been stolen from underneath me- I felt that sickening falling feeling in my stomach and had to mentally remind myself I was on solid ground.

The rational side of me understood the decision, respected it even.

But the irrational side of me wanted to punch this bloody git in the face. Or cry. Or both. But whilst I was always very quick to emotion- especially around people I knew well- I wouldn't give him the satisfaction.

So instead, I nodded curtly; not trusting myself to open my mouth. Then I stood up, turned, and walked away, slowly at first, but faster and faster as I moved toward the door.

"Rose," he called behind me, "Come on, say something." I ignored him as I left through the door. _Don't cry, don't cry for him_ , I told myself, but even as I did I felt hot, angry tears brimming in my eyes. I swore to myself that I would not let them fall.

But they were coming down, so I hurried into a nearby empty classroom, shut the door firmly, before collapsing against a wall- sliding to the floor and clutching my knees as a form of support. And the tears came, hot and heavy and hard, my body was wracked with sobs before long and I was unable to control them.

Was I crying for Lorcan? Was I crying for my own situation with Malfoy? Was I crying because I was just _exhausted_?

Perhaps it would a mixture of it all. I didn't know. All I knew was that I sat there, tears falling thick and fast and blurring my vision.

I wasn't sure how long it was, but eventually, the door opened and someone walked in. I probably should have been embarrassed, but I honestly didn't have the strength. Besides, I figured whoever it was would take one look at my pathetic, crying form and walk straight out of the room.

But they didn't. Instead, they stopped in their tracks, paused a moment, before walking cautiously over and sliding down to sit on the floor next to me.

I looked up, and even though my blurred vision I could tell it was Malfoy. I opened my mouth, but he waved Al's marauders map, answering my unasked question.

"Oh," I replied, then hiccuped softly, my tears slowing. Then I closed my eyes again and, in a way that made the rational side of me hot with shame, I leant into his side. I couldn't help it, my hollow insides craved the warmth of someone. _Anyone_. I just needed to be held.

He didn't pull away, like- in the deepest parts of myself- I was scared he would, instead, he put a hand under my face and raised it. I blinked my eyes open, and I was looking straight at him.

"What happened?" He asked, and there was concern in his voice. _Real_ concern. I tried to look away, but his hand kept my face where it was.

I squeezed my eyes shut instead. It wasn't as if he didn't know- Malfoy was a smart boy, he could put two and two together. I had left to see my boyfriend, and now I was crying in an empty classroom.

"Look at me," but I refused to open my eyes- so I felt him bring his face closer to mine. " _Rose_." His breath was hot on my face, and- in spite of myself- my eyes fluttered open in response, to meet his.

Suddenly, I realised how close he was. A part of my brain, muffled by my tears and pounding heartbeat, told me to get away from him. To stand up and leave. This was Scorpius Malfoy, the boy who had tormented me since first year. The bigoted, arrogant boy.

But there was a sadness in my very limbs and a pressure building inside me, so I didn't go. Instead, I did something that Rose Weasley never would have done in her right mind. I stretched up, and kissed him gently on the cheek.

When I pulled away again, he was still looking at me, but his expression was changed- his silver eyes searching mine for something. Then, before I even knew what was happening, his mouth was on mine.

That suppressed part of my mind was screaming now, telling me to stop what I was doing. But he was soft and warm, and my insides ached with emotion. I fell into the kiss, not wanting to pull away.

But then I faltered, even through the fog of grief I knew this was wrong. I jerked back, opening my eyes to see Malfoy, and my stomach churned. This was wrong, this was all wrong.

I clambered shakily to my feet, breathing heavily, and ran from the room before either of us had a chance to speak.

When I woke up the next morning, it was to an insistent tapping noise.

I groaned, sitting up and rubbing my eyes. Wait a second... where was I? I frowned at my surroundings for a moment, wondering why on /earth/ I was sleeping in the Gryffindor Common room, before the previous night came flooding back to me.

He had kissed me, and I had kissed him back. And then I had run, unsure of where to go, so I had come here.

I had _kissed_ him.

But I hadn't been in the right frame of mind- I had been emotional and upset and irrational- and the bastard had kissed me anyway.

And why? Scorpius Malfoy _hated_ me- it was about all I was sure off in the world. So what had he been doing?

That tapping was still there, stopping me from thinking, so I got up from my sofa and looked around. Mum's owl was at the window, tapping away furiously at the glass, a rolled up piece of parchment in his talons.

I rolled my eyes at the bird's foul mood, which seemed to match my own, but I opened the window for him nonetheless. He swooped in, hooted, dropped the letter to the ground at my feet and flew swiftly out again.

 _Good_ , I thought, moodily. _I never like that stupid owl anyway._

I stooped down to pick up the letter, but, conscious that I didn't want anyone to see me in the Gryffindor common room dressed in yesterdays clothes, I decided to read it whilst I was walking.

It was from my mum, unsurprisingly.

 _To Rosie,_

 _I just got an owl from Mrs Malfoy, inviting us over to the Manor this Saturday. She said that you and Malfoy had talked it over and decided it was time to meet each other's parents-officially. She asked us to be there by 11 O Clock._

 _From, mum._

 _Ps. I'm so proud of you for talking to him and making this decision, sweetie. I know this situation hasn't been easy on you, but I'm glad that you're being mature._

I groaned, stopping in my tracks right outside our common room. Oh, Merlins balls- this was the last thing that I needed. How could I meet his parents now, with everything going on? How could I look them in the eye?

I pushed open the door to our common room, tucking my mum's letter into my pocket and sending a prayer to every God anyone ever believed in that Malfoy was still sleeping.

There was no reason he should be awake- I myself had been woken unnecessarily early by a mixture of the uncomfortable sofa and mum's owl. But the castle was still quiet, no one else having gotten out of bed yet.

I didn't just _want_ Malfoy to be asleep, I _needed_ him to be. If I had to face him now, after last night I...

It didn't even bear thinking about.

So I conjured all my luck and opened the dormitory door.

He was standing on the other side, hand outstretched as if he had been about to open the door himself. His hair was messy and his tie wasn't tied, but hung loosely around his collar.

When he saw me, his eyes turned stormy and he took a step forward.

I took one back.

"Malfoy," I greeted, keeping my voice nonchalant as I greeted him.

"Weasley," he returned, but his voice wasn't nonchalant. I shivered slightly at the anger I heard there.

"Good morning," I persevered, resolving just to act like nothing had happened, "I was just goin-"

"Don't play games with me, Weasley." His voice was low, and he took another step into the common room.

"I-I'm not," I replied, stepping back again and hitting the back of a sofa

"What about what happened last night?"

"What about it?" I asked, trying to keep my voice light, but I could hear it shaking. "I wasn't thinking straight, I was upset. You were just there and-" I broke off, instantly realising I had said the wrong thing as his eyebrows lowered into a scowl, darkening his face.

"I was just _there_?" He asked, venomously.

"Look, I don't know why you're so angry," I snapped, taking a step forward, "I was crying and vulnerable and _you_ kissed _me_ , not the other way round." I was sick of his moods.

A door opened behind me and seconds later I heard Lysander's voice.

"Everything okay out here?" He asked.

There was a lull of silence for a moment, as Malfoy's gaze slid to a spot over my shoulder, presumably staring Lysander down.

"Fine," the Slytherin said, eventually, the muscle in his jaw clenching. Before he looked back at me once, his eyes so cold I shivered again. Then, he walked swiftly out of the common room.

I closed my eyes, absorbing what had just happened and, for a moment, wondering if my magic was even worth this. Maybe I should just let the ministry snap my wand.

"Rose?" Lysander asked, I turned to look at the identical face of the boy who had dumped me last night.

"Everything's fine," I forced a smile, before going into my dorm to get dressed.

It was Thursday, Potions. My loss of Lorcan and my current relationship with Malfoy had kept me in an icy mood all week.

And when I say my 'relationship' with Malfoy, I'm referring to that fact that we had been steadfastly avoiding each other. At least, I had been avoiding him. But as far as I could tell, he wasn't even _thinking_ about me. He had just gone back to not caring.

If he had ever even _started_ caring.

On top of all that, our potions professor had decided it would be a good idea to pair me up with none other than Annette.

I didn't hate Annette. None of this was her fault, she was just a victim of the law. But... it wasn't easy to sit next to her. It was silent and awkward working with her, but I busied myself with the work to distract me.

We were in the middle of brewing armortentia, the love potion, when she spoke.

"I'm sorry about you and Lorcan." She told me, and her voice was so genuine that I had to smile.

"It's okay," I tried to keep my voice nonchalant. "I understand why you and Lorcan want to try and make it work. You _are_ married after all."

"What?" She asked, confusion clear in her voice- so much so that I turned to face her.

"You know-" I began, puzzled, "I get why you and Lorcan are trying to give it a go and I don't blame you..." I trailed off.

"Is that what he told you?" She asked.

"Well, yeah."

She scoffed, laughing. "What a /bastard/."

"He... he lied?" I asked, incredulous. She nodded, and I realised that this was worse. This was so much worse. The idiot /lied/ to me.

"Oh," I said, softly.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, Rose," Annette told me and, even though I had hardly spoken to the girl before, she hugged me.

"Girls, back to your potion please," the professor called from across the dim dungeon.

It was lunch that same day when my family finally caught on.

"Rose," Dom came rushing up to the Gryffindor table and squeezed onto the bench, "I just saw Lysander, and he said that you and Lorcan broke up." She said, and I groaned internally.

"What?" Alice looked to me, "Is that true?" But the look on my face had already answered that question. "When?"

"Monday," I replied.

" _Monday_?!" Dom practically screeched. "Rose, it's _Thursday_. How could you not tell us?"

I cast a desperate look at Hugo, but he wasn't looking at me. His eyes were trained on the Ravenclaw table. As I watched, he took his wand out and stood up, unsurely. "Am I supposed to... like... hex him or something?" He asked.

"Sit _down_ Hugo," I said and rolled my eyes. Dom took my brother's hand and pulled him back into his seat.

"So what happened?" Alice asked, wringing her hands nervously.

"Would you all relax," I told them, reaching for a sausage from the pile in the middle of the table. "It's over, he dumped me, and it's probably for the best anyway."

" _He_ dumped _you_?" Dom rolled her eyes, "I can't believe that pathetic little sot."

"Yeah, well, anyway, he told me that he was going to try and make it work with Annette. But I was paired with her in potions today, and she said that that was a lie."

"What?" Alice looked absolutely scandalised, whilst Dom's face twisted into an expression I never wanted to be on the receiving end of.

"That slimy little git-" She began, but was cut off by a certain black-haired Slytherin appearing behind her.

"Who's a slimy little git?" Al laughed good-naturedly as he sat down beside Hugo.

"Lorcan," my brother replied, seemingly still a little gloomy that we cut short his rampage for revenge.

"Oh yeah, Scorpius told me, sorry about that Rose," Al told me sympathetically, "I never liked that guy anyway."

"Hold on," Dom held up a hand, flicking her blonde hair over her shoulder in indignation. "Rose, you told _Malfoy_ before you told _us_?"

"I didn't tell him, he just sort of..." I flushed red with the memory of that night in the empty classroom and prayed none of my family could tell. "He just sort of found out."

Dom narrowed her eyes at me suspiciously, but didn't say anything more.

* * *

 **A/N: There we go, done! A bit of a spicy chapter as this story goes. Sorry if the ending is a little abrupt. Please, if you liked it, leave a review. It really means a lot!**


	11. Chapter 11

**I'm back! Yay. I felt a bit stale for quite a while but recently, inspiration struck. I've already got Chapter 12 and 13 done too, so they should be following soon. Also, if anyone had any idea what time of the year we're at in this story, please let me know, I am _so_ lost. This is what happens when you just write shit and forget to record how much time is passing. Anyway, enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter 11**

I was sitting on the stairs of my home, wringing my hands as my mum and dad rushed about the house getting ready.

Well, my mum was rushing, my dad- not so much. It was almost like he _wanted_ to be late for our meeting with the Malfoys at Malfoy Manor.

"Ron put your tie on," mum told him, hastily pulling some heels on her feet.

"I don't want to wear a tie," dad responded grumpily, throwing the thing over the bannister. "I bet Malfoy won't be wearing a tie."

"Oh, grow up Ronald," Hermione scolded him, throwing the tie back around his neck. "Just put it on, would you? I need to do my makeup."

I checked my watch, "We have to be there in two minutes," I reminded my parents, exasperated. I had been ready to go for about 45 minutes. But, unfortunately, my parents weren't quite so organised.

Well, of course, my mum usually _is_ organised, but something about this particular outing had her all flustered. I assumed she was just nervous to meet Astoria- or maybe it was about the house and the memories she had there.

I wasn't sure.

"Alright!" Mum appeared back from the bathroom and clapped her hands together, "let's go."

I jumped up from my spot on the carpeted stairs, smoothing down my own outfit, before linking arms with my mum and dad.

I had never been much of a fan of sidelong apparition, this journey was no exception. But, as we walked through the black, iron gates towards Malfoy Manor, I couldn't figure out whether the sick feeling in my stomach was because of the chosen method of transport, or because of what we were about to do.

I knocked on the door, wondering if anyone would even be able to hear me in a house this big. But sure enough, seconds later the grand double doors opened.

A house elf stood on the other side, beaming at the prospect of visitors as she hurriedly invited us inside the mansion.

"Welcome Weezey's," The elf greeted, taking my dad's jacket and hanging it on a rack. "We have been told you were coming." She continued excitedly. "Roe is so glad to meet you."

"We're glad to meet you too Roe," my mum responded kindly, and I was reminded of my mother's love of house elves. Apparently, she had once set up a whole organisation to protect their rights.

"That's very kind mistress Weezey." The elf blushed, before turning and padding down the corridor. "Follow me, the masters are waiting in the dining room."

"Thank you, Roe, and please call me Hermione."

I cast a glance at my dad, who rolled his eyes.

Unsurprisingly, the walk to the dining room was hardly a short one- and I was reminded just how grand the mansion was. As far as I knew, the Malfoy's had worked in the ministry for a good few generations- I wondered what a Malfoy ancestor had done to earn this sort of fortune.

Probably something shady, I decided, just as Roe led us off of a corridor and through a door, into one of the most expensive rooms I had ever seen.

But I hardly had time to dwell on the chandelier the size of a table, or the marble statue in the corner, because my attention was stolen by the three people already in the room.

I pointedly ignored Scorpius, but it wasn't hard, because he wasn't who my gaze was drawn too.

Draco Malfoy stood by the empty fireplace, a glass in his hand and platinum hair, slicked back. He didn't smile as he noticed the new arrivals, in fact, there was very little reaction at all. The only acknowledgement he offered was a searching gaze over the three of us. When it landed on me, I had to look away.

Astoria was sitting at the table, but beamed when she looked up and saw us hovering in the doorway.

"Mr and Mrs Weasley, it's a pleasure!" She gushed, standing elegantly and crossing the room, offering a dainty hand to each of my parents in turn.

"Please, call us Ron and Hermione," my mum returned, smiling her most gracious smile.

"Of course," Astoria, replied. "We are family now, after all?" She added, jovially, missing the slightly green colour that my dad turned as she engulfed me in a vanilla-scented hug.

"Weasley, Granger," Draco Malfoy approached, holding out a hand for each of my parents in turn. "It's been a while."

"It's good to see you, Draco." My mum replied, her tone undecipherable. My dad, however, did not respond at all, other than the shake the blond man's hand perhaps a little too firmly.

When he turned towards me, I felt my heart beat a little faster- regardless of whether the rumours about him were true, Draco Malfoy cut a formidable figure, especially if he was your father in law.

"Rose, is it?" He asked, to which I could only nod.

"I'm glad to finally meet you, Mr Malfoy."

He didn't say anything for a moment or two, before stepping back and gesturing to the table in the centre of the room. "Take a seat."

I cast a look at my mum before we joined the Malfoy's at the table, where Scorpius greeted my parents- using the utmost manners of course- yet the air between me and him remained cold and silent.

I sighed as I sat down, thinking back to when we'd arranged this family meeting- we'd been in a time of peace for the first time in six and a half years. It had been so short lived.

Well, I scowled internally, that's because he had to go and kiss me, isn't it? I still couldn't wrap my head around why he had done it. Probably something to do with the Slytherin ego- of course, he had to make sure every girl in the school was in love with him.

Ha, I thought snarkily, this was one girl that was _never_ going to work on.

It wasn't long before the house elves began to bring us food, a time which was filled with idle chatter between our parents. Well, honestly, it was mainly my mum and Astoria filling the silence, whilst my dad sat sourly at the corner of the table.

Once the food was out, there was silence as we all ate. Most of us with passable manners- I was really making an effort to use my fork correctly and everything.

Unfortunately, my dad wasn't putting in quite the same amount of effort.

He was shoving forkful after forkful into his mouth. I glared at him from across the table until eventually, my mum nudged him with her elbow.

"What?" He asked, looking up, around the table, then back to her.

"Please, have some manners," she told him sternly, under her breath- but Rose had no doubt that everybody heard.

My dad rolled his eyes in response, but slowed down his eating all the same.

"So Rose," Draco Malfoy began, after a good few minutes of silence. "I hear you kept your last name as Weasley."

My eyes darted to my mum, panicked, before returning to the man who was staring me down from across the table. "Yes, sir," I responded, wincing at how formal I sounded- not to mention the tremor in my voice.

But he didn't seem phased by my nerves as he raised an eyebrow. "How... modern."

Astoria gave her husband a look, "well, _I_ think it's a wonderful idea."

Draco took a sip of his drink. "Well, what about the last names of any children you may have?"

My dad spluttered, choking on his water. When I looked back at Draco Malfoy, he was watching his childhood enemy with an evident sense of satisfaction- I got the feeling he had only said that to earn a reaction.

"Now now, Draco." Astoria shot her husband a stern glare, who only looked amused in response.

There were a few more moments of silence before my mother-in-law spoke again. "Where do you two think you will live after Hogwarts?" She asked lightly.

Draco scowled. "They'll live in the Manor, of course, where else?"

"No they will _not_ ," My dad blurted out, a look of deep offence written over his face. Astoria seemed taken aback by the outburst, while Draco just looked at my dad, entirely unbothered.

"Ron," my mum began, placing her napkin on the table, "can I see you in the hallway for a second?"

My dad looked a little abashed but was led- without protest- into the hallway nevertheless. What followed was a heated, muffled conversation. I picked up the words 'civil' and 'Malfoy', but the rest was indiscernible. Yet despite the wall between us, I could tell my dad was whining.

I buried my face in my hands, mortified at my current situation and the fact that my parents were embarrassing me in front of the Malfoy's, even more than I'd already embarrassed myself. Which was quite a lot.

I expected to look up and find three grim faces around the table, but instead, I raised my head to see Scorpius failing to hide a snigger, causing Astoria to hit him gently in the knee whilst stifling a soft laugh of her own. Draco, the formidable ex-death eater himself, just seemed vaguely amused.

I frowned inwardly- this was not the family everyone described them as.

* * *

The next day was Sunday and another family meal at the Burrow- well, actually, it was the Weasley family watching Roxy's first game as official beater for the Holyhead Harpy's. But after that was dinner at the Burrow.

They Harpy's were currently playing the Appleby Arrows, so let's just say it wasn't a very high stakes game. The Harpy's would have to lose four players and become magically blindfolded for the Arrows to even have a chance. Nevertheless, we had come to support her in the first match of the season.

Brannon, Roxy's big-shot quidditch star fiancé, had come too, which Dom and I agreed was sweet of him as we sat side by side in the empty stadium. It was so empty, that the only Harpy supporters present were my family- but they still had triple the amount of supporters as the Arrows.

Despite the lack of tension in the game, Weasley's did not take quidditch lightly- especially not when one of their own was playing. When the Harpy's scored, we screamed and whooped and waved home-made banners, and when Roxy hit the bludger, we celebrated just as fiercely. James and Fred even went as far as to send a few fireworks off from their wands- which earnt them a good scolding from the referee. Something about 'distracting and endangering the players'.

A mere 25 minutes after we had sat down in the stadium, the game was over. The Harpy seeker was holding a struggling snitch in her fist and grinning as her team swarmed her. I cheered along with my family, and we stayed in good spirits all the way back to the Burrow.

A few additions turned up for dinner as we were setting the table. Alice came first, then Molly's fiancee and Daisy. Of course, Malfoy wasn't coming. Even if I had felt any desire to invite him- which I hadn't- he would never have come anyway.

He was still being icy cold to me, and I was still reciprocating. As far as I was concerned, I had made a mistake, yes- but he had made an even bigger one. If he expected me to apologise then the prick had another thing coming.

When we sat down to eat, I was next to Daisy again, who had James on her other side. I scowled at my cousin, waiting for him to make conversation with his fiancee- but nothing. It seemed he still hadn't grown up.

We began to eat and the table came alive with chatter. Mostly centred around Roxy and the quidditch season, or our upcoming NEWTs. The couple to my right, however, remained quiet.

"So James, how has work been recently?" Daisy attempted, earning nothing but a non-committal shrug that had me wanting to box my cousin's ears.

The pair fell into silence again, leaving me to do my best at starting up a conversation with Daisy. We spoke about her job and my own aspirations for the future- but eventually, it seemed we ran out of things to say.

"Which Quidditch team do you support, James?" The girl turned back to my cousin, her voice remaining gentle despite the frustration she must have been feeling.

He shrugged again, before muttering, "Puddlemere," and looking away.

"Oh, that's nice- my dad supports them."

James gave nothing in way of response. I was about to get to my feet and start shouting something but, as it turns out, I didn't need to.

"You know what, James Potter?" All of a sudden, Daisy was yelling and the sweet, calm girl that had occupied her seat moments before, was gone. "I have tried again and _again_ to make friends with you. You might not like me, and you might not like this law- but guess what? I'm not _your_ biggest fan either! This law is unfair on everyone, so you don't have to be so _fucking_ rude!"

She broke off, breathing heavily as she started and stared around at the table that had been stunned into silence- there was no noise as my family stared with slack jaws at the girl who seemed to then realise what she'd done. She dropped back into her chair, wide-eyed, and put a hand over her mouth.

Somewhere down the end of the table, Fred started clapping- and in the next moment the whole family had joined in. Most of us were on our feet, including me, laughing and cheering as Daisy blushed furiously- but I noticed a small smile creep onto her face. James, at least, had the decency to look embarrassed. Something told me that he would be acting like less of a jerk from now on.

* * *

It was Defence Against the Dark Arts with the Slytherins last lesson the next day and I was practising with Al again. I was trying to disarm him without my wand, again- but this time I was having more luck. The first few times I had tried, I had failed. But I'd gotten his wand to fly into my hand at least twice now. After which, Professor Green made us practice shielding ourselves from expelliarmus using non-verbal protego.

He disarmed me on the first try, but I hadn't expected to get it right straight away.

"How are things going with Scorp?" Al asked me, handing me back my wand before returning to his duelling position.

"Good," I lied, before hitting him with an expelliarmus to prevent any more questions. His wand flew from his hand and I caught it easily.

"Really?" He asked, taking it back from my outstretched hand. "So where have you been sleeping?"

I felt myself blush furiously, but did my best to remain composed and casual as I replied, "In my dorm, of course."

"Liar." He replied, shooting an expelliarmus at me.

I rolled my eyes in exasperation as my wand flew from my hand. "I should have known I couldn't lie to you, your buddy-boy Malfoy tells you everything, after all."

"He didn't tell me, Rose. I went to your dorm to see you both this morning, but you weren't there." Al told me, using a voice that told me he was running out of patience.

"I'm sorry, ok Al. But I can't stand that boy!" I practically cried in frustration, hitting him with an expelliarmus that was perhaps a little stronger than I had intended- sending him staggering back a few steps.

"I don't understand." He shook his head, retrieving his wand from my hand. "I thought things were going better, you slept in your own room. You even met his parents. What happened?"

I blushed, my memory pulling me back to that shameful night.

"Nothing happened," I told him as earnestly as I could, but my cousin only narrowed his eyes suspiciously. I was dreading what he was going to say next but then, mercifully, Professor Green interrupted us.

"Weasley, Potter," she barked from across the room, "less chatting, more charms."

* * *

We had our second apparition training session that afternoon, something that had once excited me was now only tedious. My mind was elsewhere- and the overly enthusiastic voice of the portly man in front was doing nothing to help me stay concentrated.

All that was on my mind was Malfoy. And all that I wanted on my mind was my studies- which I was itching to throw myself into after the school day was done. It was already May- NEWTs were approaching fast and I hated how this whole marriage law was distracting me from it.

So as soon as the government man dismissed us, I left quickly- hurrying towards the library to stick my nose in a book for the next few hours. Which I did, drowning myself in defence against the dark arts and potions.

I focused mainly on wandless magic- one of the most advanced things on the curriculum. Of course, it was something we'd all been doing unwittingly since we were children and we'd displayed our magic for the first time. The hard bit was channelling the magic.

So that's why I was sitting in the library, alone, viciously glaring at a book.

I was trying to get it to levitate- so far, all I'd managed was to open the front cover. Well, I reasoned, it was a great deal better than nothing. Nevertheless, I reclosed the book, sat back down- and tried again.

The room went from empty to even emptier and my tiny corner of the library grew dark as the sun slipped away, but I didn't notice. Wrapped up in my concentration, I didn't even notice as Mrs Norris Jnr. prowled into the library. At least, not until her glowing green eyes caught mine through the dark and made me jump.

"Merlin," I clutched a hand to my chest, breathing heavier than normal. "Mrs Norris you scared me-" I broke off, my eyes finding the window, and the pitch black sky beyond. "Oh no..." I muttered aloud- at this point, curfew must have been far behind me.

The cat blinked, then- silently- turned and trotted out of the library. I couldn't help but wonder why no one had put a bell on that thing yet.

"She'll have gone to get Filch," I spoke aloud again as I hastily began to collect my belongings back into my bag. I found that my voice was a comforting presence in the dark and otherwise silent castle. Hogwarts was my favourite place in the world- but it could still be slightly scary at night.

I rushed from the room, being careful to make as little noise as possible against the stone floor- but nevertheless, my footsteps seemed to echo and bounce around the corridors. I only hoped that Filch's (extremely) advanced aged had begun to affect his hearing.

Practically running now, I leapt up the staircase- carefully avoiding the trick steps and praying to Merlin that the stairs wouldn't choose this incredibly inconvenient time to start moving. Graciously, they didn't- and I made it to the seventh-floor landing with practically no trouble.

I was rushing down a corridor feeling quite pleased with myself and my success, actually, and ignoring the paintings as they groaned at me to 'nox' my wand- when, suddenly, there were footsteps coming round the corner in front of me.

I skidded to a halt, but the person who came round the stone wall and into the puddle of my ' _lumos_ ' was not Mr Filch.

In fact, in that moment- I would have preferred if it was the aged caretaker.

"Weasley," Malfoy greeted me coldly. Ah, so he was still pissed. Well, that was fine by me.

"Malfoy," I responded, doing my best to match his tone.

"What are you doing?"

"What are _you_ doing?" I retorted. Perhaps it was the adrenaline of running from Filch, or the night time atmosphere, but my voice was snappier than usual. I gave him a moment to respond to my question, but he didn't.

"Listen Malfoy," I continued, hearing the exhaustion in my own voice. "I _could_ stand here and talk to you, but I'd much rather just go so..." I started to walk around him, when he reached out a hand and caught my arm.

"Wait-" he began, then stopped short, turning and looking into the gloomy corridor behind. I frowned, caught between shaking him off and curiosity at what had distracted him. That's when I heard the footsteps.

These ones were uneven and hasty- but more of a shuffle than a walk. This time, there was no mistaking that it was Filch.

"Quick," I whispered to my counterpart, before leading him into a broom closet off of the corridor. I squeezed into the tiny space, my feet squished in beside a bucket and a stool. Malfoy stepped in after me and shut the door behind us. And suddenly, we were plunged into darkness.

"Where are they, Mrs Norris?" Filch's raspy voice appeared as his shuffling steps grew closer and closer. "We _know_ there are students out of bed!"  
My breaths were coming out loud and ragged. The next thing I knew, a hand was placed over my mouth.

"Oi," I tried to say as I pulled at his fingers, but it only came out as a muffled protest. In response, Malfoy didn't remove his hand- but only hissed at me to be quiet. Even in the darkness, I felt his glare. I hoped he felt as I rolled my eyes.

We listened as Filch shuffled into a classroom on the other side of the corridor. Malfoy let his hand fall back to his side. I squinted, my eyes slowly adjusting to the dark.

I had never understood the appeal of making out with someone in a broom closet. It was something nearly everyone did, but I had never been able to fathom why people enjoyed it so much. A small space, hard wooden walls and random brooms sticking into your back at odd angles. What was sexy about that?

But now, as I stood in the dark with Malfoy, pressed so close up against him that his heavy breath warmed my face and I could feel his body with mine, I understood it. There was something so intimate about. Despite myself, I let my eyes trace his face in the low light. The only sounds I could hear were our heavy breaths and my heartbeat pounding in my ears. I told myself it was the thrill of almost being caught by Mr Filch, but there was definitely another reason my heart was beating so fast.

No, Rose, get a grip. The adrenaline seemed to be making me slightly delusional.

Perhaps, I mused- sighing, if he were any other boy this could have been a perfect moment. A moment that 30 year old me would look back on and remember as the height of my teenage years.

Unfortunately, it was Malfoy- the boy I hated. The boy I was bound to for the rest of my life.

"You're staring, Weasley," he spoke, eventually. I averted my gaze from his face, staring at the closet door as if I could see right through it.  
I didn't respond, which I hoped would mean we could return to silence, but no such luck.

"Why are you out so late, Weasley?" He asked, and the small space of the closet meant that I could feel his breath on my face as he spoke. "Visiting a boy? You moved on from Scamander fast."

My eyes snapped back to him, and I gave him a look that I hoped showed him just how much I wanted to slap him into next week. He didn't seem all that phased.

"Not that it's any of your business, _Malfoy_ , but no I wasn't. I was in the library... _studying_." I breathed out hotly, knowing that if I didn't keep my temper in check, Filch would hear me. "Which I'm _sure_ you already knew, since it seems you've been spying on me with Al's map recently."

Silence as my mind rushed back to the sad, sad night in the classroom when Malfoy had entered the room holding that map. At the time I hadn't been bothered, but now it felt like a violation.

"I gave that map back to Al." He responded, rolling his eyes. "Besides, I didn't see you complaining seven days ago."

"I didn't have time to complain you-" I hissed, cutting myself off when I heard the classroom door open and Filch's uneven footsteps enter back into the hallway. We both kept silent, me, fuming and him, well... as ever, I couldn't decipher the look on his face.

Eventually, after some disgruntled muttering, Filch and his cat faded from earshot.

I pushed past him, opening the closet door and tumbling out into the stone corridor.

I turned back, finding Malfoy standing in front of me, watching. I opened my mouth as if to speak, but no words came to mind, so instead, I shut my mouth again, turned on my heel and walked away.

* * *

 **Chapter 11, done! Sorry it's shorter than normal. I don't know how I feel about this one guys, but it's a necessary set up... I think. I'll be honest, there isn't all that much planning ahead in this story. Anyway, leave a review if you enjoyed please! It really means a lot, I do all this writing for two reason: a) because it's fun and b) on the off chance that someone out there might enjoy reading it. So the interaction is very much appreciated! Don't be afraid to message me either, if you have some more in-depth thoughts you would like to share or even just for the lols.**


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: What's up legends? It's back, on schedule and everything wow. A longer chapter for you this time- so I hope you enjoy :)))**

* * *

 **Chapter 12**

The week whirled by and all too soon Rose found herself waking up at the Burrow on Sunday morning.

The day before had been full of frantic preparations, cooking, decorating, cleaning, Molly had worked her whole family overtime in preparation for the big day- Victoire and Teddy's wedding.

It wasn't being held at the Burrow. In fact- it wasn't even being held in England. They were getting married in an old castle in France. Reportedly, it had once belonged to the most famous French witch of all time and her magic still lingered over the site.

Fleur believed this would bless the marriage and make it stronger... Vic just thought the castle was cute.

Anyway... I was still practically dizzy from all the flooing back and forth we had done the day before: taking decorations across to the venue; making the castle look like something out of a fairytale.

The witches magic had definitely strengthened the walls, but there were still areas of ruin or crumbling stone. Luckily, that played to whatever aesthetic Vic had in mind, so we just decorated the ruin with flowers and fairy lights. Which- unlike the muggle ones I had in my room at home- were actually made of real fairies that hovered around the ruins. Of course, my mum has been trying to 'free' fairies for years, claiming that using them as decoration is a violation of their rights. I would agree, except fairies are vain creatures... they're actually famous for _wanting_ to be used as decorations by wizards.

"Rose," Dom poked her head into the room I was sleeping in at the top of the Burrow. When she spotted me still in bed, she rolled her eyes, " _Rose_ , get _up_. We have to floo to France and then get ready before the guests arrive."

I frowned, "What time is it?"

"Nine in the morning!"

I groaned, putting my face back into my pillow. Nine in the morning... no one was arriving until two.

I dragged myself out of bed nonetheless, heading straight downstairs. Nana Molly already had breakfast on the table, so I sat down to eat. The table was already crowded by my cousins, their faces (and the way Roxy's elbow was in spilt milk and she hadn't noticed) suggested that they had been woken up just as abruptly and unnecessarily as I had.

"Alright, James?" Dom asked, turning my attention to my older cousin, who was currently holding a handkerchief to his head.

"No," he replied, taking the hanky away and exposing a small cut on his forehead. "I went to France to finish clearing the castle curtains of Doxies this morning and one of the bloody things _bit_ me."

"Oh, do stop your whining James, we've already given you the antidote to the venom." Nana Molly cut in, rolling her eyes as she cleared some empty plates from the table.

"Yes I _know_ -" James began to reply, still looking downtrodden, when Fred interrupted.

"Nana, he just doesn't want to be bleeding from his face when he meets all of Vic's veela cousins today." Fred snickered, grinning wickedly as the table laughed.

"No! That's not it. I-" James protested, before cutting himself off suddenly and returning his gaze to his plate.

"Well, what is it Jamesy-poo?" Roxy asked, ruffling her cousin's hair.

"I just didn't want to be bleeding from the face when I saw Daisy today," James responded, matter-of-factly. There was a moment's silence and then...

"Aww," Dom clutched her heart. "That is so sweet." From any other family member, that would have been sarcasm for sure, but Dom was being genuine.

"So I take it things are going better between you two now?" Molly asked, raising an inquisitive eyebrow.

James nodded, before breaking out into a grin as if he just couldn't help it. "We've already gone on four dates."

"Don't you live together now?" Lily asked through a mouthful of scrambled eggs.

"Well..." James shrugged, blushing pink. "Yeah, but we still like going on dates."

"Aww!" Fred clapped excitedly as the table laughed. "Our little Jamesy is in love!"

"Well dear," Nana mused, bustling over and tilting James' face back so she could peer at his injury more closely. "It's a magical wound and doxies... well, they're not weak creatures when it comes to magic. I don't think we can simply wave our wands and fix it."

James sighed in exasperation as Nana returned to busying herself in the kitchen.

"You know, in the muggle world they have something called plasters... you just stick it over a cut to help it mend. My mum used them on me sometimes when I was younger and I scraped my knee or something." I told my cousin. The table stopped and turned to look at me.

"Rose... why do you always make stuff up about muggles?" Fred asked. "We're not gonna believe you just because Aunt Hermione is muggle-born."

I laughed, forking another piece of bacon into my mouth. "I'm not lying."

My cousins continued to look dumbstricken, but it was not anything I wasn't used to, so I found myself simply laughing at their expression.

It was at that moment that Fleur apparated directly into the room, almost knocking over poor Lucy as she came down the stairs and into the kitchen. The part veela woman was already frowning, but it contorted into nothing short of rage as she saw us all still sitting at the table.

"Why ees no one ready?" She asked, clapping her hand ferociously so that Fred, who was closest to our aunt, jumped and leaned away from her wrath. "You all just voke up? You lazy, lazy!"

James opened his mouth to protest, most likely to tell the witch that he had already been to a foreign country and back that morning, but it seemed that something in her face made him decide against speaking.

"Up up up! Allée!"

Me and my cousins scrammed, half rushing upstairs to shower or something. The other half, including myself, rushed for the fireplace. Moments later, we found ourselves in France.

"Merlin's beard," James complained as our little group left the room with the fireplace and headed to the main part of the castle, where the ceremony would be taking place. "She's terrifying when she needs to be."

Dom laughed, smirking as she looked back at us over her shoulder. "It's the part veela."

"She's right," Louis agreed, grinning wickedly.

James shuddered, "how has uncle Bill survived?"

Most of my uncles and aunts were already in the main hall amongst the chairs and decor that we had set up the night before. My mum and dad were there too, but honestly, there wasn't much going on. Most of them were sitting down, chatting idly.

As we entered, my dad looked startled and jumped to his feet, before relaxing as he saw who it was.

"I thought Fleur was back." He explained, rolling his eyes and sitting back down. "She's been at us all morning, I think she might actually start removing fingers if she sees us sitting down." We laughed in response, but the other adults only nodded somberly.

"On at you about what?" Hugo asked, taking a seat next to mum. "What is there left to do?"

"Absolutely nothing!" Ginny exclaimed, idly playing with a piece of cloth, using her wand to turn it from white to blue and back to white again.

I looked around the room, before shrugging and realising that they were right, so I took a seat.

"Alright!" Dom clapped her hands, "Bridesmaids, follow me. We have to go get ready."

I shared a look with Roxy, who rolled her eyes.

"Dom, it's not even 10 o clock," Molly explained, glancing at the watch on her wrist. "We have four hours until the guests start arriving."

"Yes, four hours, which is _half_ the time we should need, and that's just to take care of Rose's hair!" Dom responded, before turning and walking away, expecting us to follow.

"Wha-?" I began, but Molly just gave me a look as if to say, ' _veelas, eh?_ ', before she followed our blonde cousin out of the main hall, with the rest of us trailing behind her.

* * *

"Al! Get _out_!" Dom returned to the room in which me and the rest of the bridesmaids were getting ready. Al was lying on the bed in the middle, in his suit already despite there still being at least 2 hours to go.

"Ugh," Al rolled over, "I'm talking to Rose."

"I don't care! The groomsmen aren't allowed in with the bridesmaids, its tradition." Dom chastised him, dragging him to his feet before proceeding to push him out of the door.

"That has _never_ been a tradition," Al protested, but Dom had already shut the door on him.

"Alright, Vic's in the next room over, so when we're ready we can go and see her," Dom announced, and a buzz of excitement ran through the room at the prospect of finally seeing the bride in her dress.

"Oi Dom," I got my cousins attention. I had been sitting at one of the mirrors in the room for about ten minutes, unsure of what to do. Aunt Fleur had done my make up, then told me to do my own hair. Yet, this kind of magic wasn't something I was all that practised in. "Would you help?" I asked the blonde once she turned to me, indicating the mass of frizzy red curls on top of my head.

"Yeah okay!" She perked up, apparently excited by the idea of a challenge as she crossed to stand behind me. "Rose, when was the last time you got a brush through this?" She asked, rolling her eyes as she got to work.

I didn't answer, only smiling sarcastically. Dom was smart enough to know that brushing curly hair would not result in a good look.

Minutes past in silence as I stared down at my hands, until, eventually. "Rose?" I looked up to meet my cousin's eyes in the mirror. "What's wrong, you look like you just saw nearly headless nick remove his nearly headless head."

"Just a bit... nervous, I guess," I responded, and it wasn't a lie. Teddy's relations to the Malfoys meant they were all coming. I didn't want to face his family when, at the moment, I could hardly even face him.

Behind us, some of the bridesmaids began to file out of the room. "To see Malfoy?" Dom asked, keeping her voice nonchalant.

"Umm, yeah I guess. We're even less friendly than usual now- which is not something I thought was possible."

Another two people left the room, leaving only three of us behind. "Why? What happened?"

I shrugged, trying to keep my face neutral so I didn't give anything away. "Just, you know, more arguments. The usual."

Roxy, the last person in the room with us, stood up, crossed the room and left, leaving us alone. Dom watched as the door closed before responding.

" _Merlin_ Rose," she sighed dramatically and rolled her eyes at me in the mirror. "You must think I'm some sort of _idiot_."

"Wha-?" I spun round to look at her face to face. "What are you talking about?"

"I know you and Malfoy aren't acting like this because of another argument, okay? I can tell every time someone mentions his name in front of you." She told me, dropping a hip and raising an eyebrow at me. "I might have flunked my OWLs, but I do know some stuff. I know about people, and I know about _drama_." Her eyes lit up at the last word.

Now it was my turn to roll my eyes. "Dom this isn't just some drama that exists for you to enjoy, it's not a reality show." Dom's face crumpled in confusion at my reference to the muggle world.

I shook my head, "what I mean is, this is my _life_ , not some juicy gossip for you."

Dom's face turned sour. "I know that _Rose_ ," she spat, in that way Dom does when she wants you to know she's annoyed. "Does it ever occur to you that I'm asking because I'm interested as your _cousin_ , someone who _cares_ about you."

We fell into silence as I turned back to face the mirror. It didn't last long though, eventually Dom sighed, annoyed, and dropped my hair from where she was working on it. "So are you going to tell me what happened with you and Malfoy or not?"

I blushed red, embarrassed even in remembering that night. I looked at Dom in the mirror, pleading her with my eyes to let this go, but she only raised her eyebrows. Eventually, I shook my head.

She gave me a glare that could have rivalled even her mothers, before muttering "typical Rose," and leaving me alone in the room.

* * *

Guests started arriving around 2 o clock, but this time we hadn't been given any job to show people to their seats- in fact, Vic had told the bridesmaids to stay inside with her to make for a more 'dramatic reveal' later when we walked down the aisle.

So, instead of being down there _with_ the guests and being forced to 'mingle', I was upstairs in the castle, watching them from a window.

The Scamander's arrived somewhere amongst the crowd and, despite myself, I couldn't help the glare that I directed at the top of Lorcan's head. Soon enough though, there was another arrival that truly shook me off.

It was the Malfoy's, but that in itself wasn't surprising, I'd known they were invited after all. No, what really made my stomach squirm was that it wasn't just Malfoy and his mum this time. Nor was it just Malfoy and his parents. Narcissa was there too.

Despite never having met the woman, and despite even now only being able to see her from above and not her full face, I knew it was her. The woman's hair was greying, and even from a slight distance, I could see that she was thin and boney... but it was undeniably her. Perhaps it was the way in which she walked, or perhaps it was the slight space the other guests left around her.

A part of me was glad, because Narcissa was out of the hospital and out and about, which perhaps meant she was better. Another part of me felt slightly sick- this was my grandmother-in-law- not a meeting I was prepared for right now.

So it seemed Vic's love of the dramatics, keeping us up here, had saved me from that uncomfortable meeting.

Or, more accurately, just postponed it. But that was good enough.

I watched as my aunts and uncles ushered people inside the castle, and therefore out of my sight, knowing that every person who filtered in through those doors brought the wedding closer. Which should have excited me... but it just didn't.

A few moments later there came a knock at the door and Alice came in. I must have missed her family arriving amongst all of the other people.

"Wow! Vic, you look incredible," My best friend announced, her eyes widened in wonder as she walked further into the room where all of the bridesmaids were sitting with Vic.

"Thank you, sweetie," my cousin responded, smiling like she already knew how good she looked, which I'm sure she did. How could she not?

Alice crossed and joined me where I was sitting on a window seat. She gave me a quick look before leaning in and muttering, "let's just have fun tonight, ok? Don't worry about him."

Once again, I was baffled by my best friend's talent at practically reading my mind. But I didn't voice that out loud, instead, I nodded, determined to follow her suggestion.

* * *

The ceremony was gorgeous, of course, and despite me being stood at the front, I knew there would be no eyes on me, thank Merlin, not with Vic looking like _that_.

Everyone smiled when the bride said her vows, everyone awed when the groom got choked up on his, everyone cheered when they kissed and everyone laughed when Teddy's hair turned bright pink right after.

And that was it, they were married, and now came the part of the wedding that everyone was waiting for- the party.

Vic disappeared and we lead the congregation out of the great, church-like hall- with its high ceilings and god-appeasing statues- and into the next room... the ballroom, if you like. Most of the guests began to mill around, idly searching for their place names on the sea of tables, or mingling with other guests.

Personally, I already knew which table I was supposed to sit on- and my feet hurt from standing up for all that time, so I made a beeline for my seat.

"Rose!" A voice called my name and I turned around to find Scorpius Malfoy walking towards me. That was a shock in itself, but what really made me stop and freeze is that he was smiling.

"Wha-" I began to say as he came closer- but he cut me off with a hug.

"Please, just go with it," came the whispered request in my ear. I had half a mind to shove him off and refuse, but from my new viewpoint over his shoulder, I saw his grandma watching us both.

We broke off, and there was a moment where his family was blocked from view and he looked at me and his eyes were saying _please_. So I nodded.

He smiled, actually _smiled_ , in relief... not even part of an act or anything, he actually smiled at me. Then, he turned around, took my hand, and began leading me over to where his family were already seated at a table.

"Grandmother," Malfoy announced as we reached them, "this is Rose."

My heart was beating in my ears, erractically reacting to me being in the presence of Narcissa Malfoy, but somehow I managed to speak over the deafening thumping sound. "It's lovely to finally meet you, Mrs Malfoy," I told her, stretching out my hand, because those were the words you were supposed to say when you wanted someone to like you. Of course, this woman wasn't just 'someone'.

She didn't smile, but her gloved hand did reach out and shake mine. Up close, the ageing lady seemed even frailer than I had noticed before, but she shook my hand with the strength of a young woman.

"Yes," she spoke gracefully, "You're a Weasley, aren't you?"

Malfoy was standing to my right. Or perhaps I should be more specific... the Malfoy that I was currently married to was standing to my right. I snuck a glance at him before responding, "Yes, ma'am." Of course, she already knew I was a Weasley. She would have been told by her son straight away.

She smiled purtly, reaching out a silken-gloved hand and picking up one of my red curls, and moving it forward, over my shoulder. "Of course you are."

I smiled, unsure of how to respond, but it seemed I didn't have to because Astoria chose that moment to notice someone across the room.

"Oh, Draco, that's the French minister for magic! We really must go say hello." And with that, she took her husband's arm and lead him from the table.

"You know, when they told me my grandson was going to marry a Weasley, I had to check that I was really awake." The elderly woman straightened her dress for a brief moment before pinning me once again with that steely gaze. "Weasley's and Malfoy's marrying... when I was younger that would have been a laughable idea. Well, not just laughable, quite frankly disgustin-"

"Grandmother," Malfoy interrupted her, to which she only held up a hand.

"Let me finish, Scorpius," She instructed, before turning her attention back to me, at which point I knew I was flushed red.

"As I was saying, _Rose_ , the idea, at first, worried me. And then, I'll admit, I began to think it may be a good match, but only to renew the Malfoys' reputation in the Wizarding world. Now, my dear," She smiled, and it was the first time that night that I had seen affection in her eyes. "Now that I have seen how happy you make my Scorpius, I couldn't care less what family you come from- you're in our family now, and I'm glad."

I blushed again, for different reasons this time, and snuck a glance at Scorpius, who had his gaze fixed on the table.

"Thank you," I replied eventually, knowing that- although slightly twisted- I had just received a compliment from Narcissa Malfoy. A big one. So what if it was all a lie? So what if Malfoy detested me and I, him? The lie had made an ill woman happy.

"In other news, my dear," The aged woman took a sip of champagne before continuing. "Next week is another ball, all the great English wizarding families will be attending, of course." She told me, matter-of-factly. I knew what that meant, that meant 'pureblood' families. But I kept my mouth shut.

"I would love it," Narcissa went on, "if you would attend with Scorpius."

"You don't have to invite my date for me, Grandmother," Malfoy interrupted, exasperation evident in his tone.

"Well apparently I do, Scorpius, since she has not attended either of the balls that have been held since you two got married," She replied firmly, sending her grandson a look of disapproval, before turning back to me.

"So, what do you say?" She asked me. "You will come, won't you?"

I couldn't say no, not whilst I was right in front of her, her sharp grey eyes staring transfixed at me.

"Of course," I replied, forcing a smile.

"Wonderful," came the response, and a moment of genuine joy crossed her face in a way that told me there was no way I was getting out of this. "You will likely have nothing appropriate to wear, so I will send one of my old dresses from when I was younger." She eyed me up and down, "I think I was a little thinner than you, but I'm sure the adjustments won't be too difficult for you."

I lost track of how many times she'd just said something I should have been offended by. I mean first off, I had a few nice dresses and secondly... why did she assume I knew sewing magic? Because I can assure, I don't.

Oh well, I thought inwardly, smiling in what I hoped was a convincingly grateful way. "That's very kind, thank you."

It was then that Astoria and Mr Malfoy decided to reappear. "I think we're supposed to go to our seats now, honey," the former told me fondly. I nodded, standing on shaky legs, and trying to remain composed as I found my seat on a table full of my cousins. That must have been one of the most nerve-racking experiences of my life- it was all I could do not to run back to my table and start weeping uncontrollably. And oh Merlin, now I was stuck having to go to a pureblood gathering and once again, act all loved up with my pseudo-husband.

First came the food- a three-course meal that had been planned by Fleur Delacour herself, the woman who was famous in my family for having a gourmet's chef's taste for food. Of course, most of us Weasley's preferring a good old Shepards pie or a few sausages and Yorkshire puddings. We were of a simple breed.

But I'm sure the rest of the guests appreciated the finely sliced salmon and strange green sauce that tasted slightly like completely melted avocado?

Of course, despite her estranged taste, Fleur was used to feeding Weasley's- so she had clearly made sure the caterers cooked much more than enough.

Then the cake came out, and it was incredible and big, and everyone cheered when Vic cut it, and Fred had three pieces. So that was where I found myself, chewing thoughtfully on the cake as I watched Teddy's friend give his best man speech.

"And McGonagall was so angry with us!" The guy ended the anecdote, earning laughter from the crowd that made me realise I hadn't really been listening.

"What was McGonagall angry about?" I whispered to the cousins I was sharing the round table with, Hugo rolled his eyes at me, but James leaned across to me.

"I don't blame you for not listening," He muttered, before casting the best man a sideways glare. "He's really not very good. These are pity laughs he's getting and we all know it."

Now it was Roxy's turn to roll her eyes at our cousin. "You're just saying that because _you_ wanted to be Teddy's best man. _I_ think this guy's very funny."

"Yeah, but that's only because you had a crush on him when we were at school," Fred added, receiving a glare from Roxy before she turned back to the man in question and shrugged.

"Can you blame me?" She asked, before winking across the table at me, earning a grin.

"Well, you know what, I think I would have made a much better best man than this clown. I'm _so_ much funnier than him." James added, still talking quietly.

"Oh, get over yourself," Roxy told him, sighing in exasperation.

James opened his mouth to reply, but a harsh ' _shhh_ ' and a glare from Fleur quickly put a stop to the conversation.

After that came a speech from Bill, and then from the bride and groom, and then the band started up. Grandma Molly was crying even before Teddy and Vic reached the dance floor in the centre of the room- about the same amount of time it took for Grandpa to get out his muggle 'video recorder'.

"Right," James got up, "guess I have to go ask Daisy to dance, or something," he announced, rolling his eyes theatrically as if it was a chore he was reluctant to do, but something about the way he practically skipped away from us told me that that was a lie.

"Do you think we should have told him he still has cake around his mouth?" Fred asked, but his tone was entirely unconcerned.

"Where would be the fun in that?" Roxy replied, raising an eyebrow and standing up. "I'm off to find Brannon's table."

"Oooh," Fred stood up hastily, his napkin falling to the floor. "I'll come with you," he told her, his eyes glinting.

I shook my head as they both disappeared, apparently the excitement of having a famous quidditch player in the family still hadn't quite worn off for some people. I cast a glance across the room, watching idly as James found Daisy, and smiling as she reached up and wiped the cake icing from his face.

"And then there were two," I remarked glancing at my brother who sat beside me, his eyes on the thin crowd that was now appearing on the dance floor. Unsurprisingly, he didn't respond, just kept his face vacant and his hands fiddling with the sleeves of the blue dress robes Vic had demanded all of the groomsmen wear.

"Hello," I waved my hand in front of his face, smiling when he blinked suddenly and looked around.

"Sorry," he responded, "what were you saying?"

I opened my mouth to speak again, but he didn't even give me the chance.

"Do you think all of this will still be going when I'm 17?" He asked suddenly, looking back out over the dance floor.

I frowned, following his gaze but gaining no more understanding. "Will what still be going?"

"This," he gestured vaguely, "the marriage law."

I sat back in my chair, suddenly very unsure of what to say. Honestly, I didn't know what I thought. Did I think the law would get overturned? Yeah... eventually, even if it was only because the magical population had regenerated itself by then, and not because the whole law was wildly unethical.

Did I think it would get overturned in the few short years it would take for Hugo to become 17? Quite honestly, no... but how could I say that to him. Unlike many people, I wasn't a fan of the 'brutal honesty' approach to life.

"Maybe... yeah, maybe Hugh. We'll see- you're nowhere near 17 yet." I ruffled his hair, receiving a small smile. "Try not to worry about it though."

"Yeah," he stood up, "I'll try," and then my brother wondered off.

I sighed, turning back to the table, muttering to myself. "And then there was one." It seemed it wouldn't stay that way for long though, I realised as I looked up and caught a glimpse of Malfoy across the room, headed in my direction.

"Here we go," I muttered, picking up the glass of champagne sitting on the table in front of me, and downing it in one go.

* * *

"Another drink?" Malfoy asked me as he sat in the chair Hugo had just vacated, eyeing my empty glass.

"I think we might both need a few more drinks before the night is out," I told him. He didn't reply except to gesture a passing waiter. Seconds later, we both had firewhiskey's in front of us. I picked it up and started sipping, strangely grateful for the burn it caused in the back of my throat.

"So," I said eventually, scrabbling for something to say- all too aware that his grandma was likely watching us from her own table across the room. "your grandma is... better?"

He frowned into his drink, "not completely, but yeah. Getting better."

The silence settled in again, I found it stifling. Scared I would go mad if I had to sit like this with him for much longer, I picked up my drunk and took two heavy gulps, my eyes watering at the hot trail it left down my throat. "Well," I decided, "I suppose she'll be expecting us to dance?"

He nodded.

I sighed inwardly, but didn't let it show. "Let's go then."

He eyed me curiously, almost suspiciously in fact, but got to his feet anyway, holding a hand out to me like in those old films my mum used to show me where the man asks the woman to dance. The idea made me laugh, and I took his hand.

He led me onto the dance floor, and something told me he was quite practised in this. Well, of course, I mused, they have to do _something_ at all those pureblood gatherings and balls. Come to think of it, he'd probably even had lessons.

I, on the other hand, had not. But it didn't seem to matter. Malfoy placed a hand on my waist, and I put mine on his shoulder, as everyone else seemed to be doing. From there, there really wasn't much to it, except swaying and turning.

Although I was concentrating so closely on not messing up, it took me a moment to realise how close we were. I shifted my gaze from where it had been focused on my feet and the space around us, risking a quick glance at his face. His own attention seemed to be on something over my head.

I returned to staring at nothing in particular and that's when I saw them, the two identical blond heads, sitting side by side on the other side of the room with their backs to the dance floor. Lorcan and Lysander... before I would have felt butterflies in my stomach- a little kick of excitement. Now I felt sick.

Searching for a distraction, I looked up at the boy I was dancing with. "Won't your grandma be expecting us to... I don't know, talk to each other? Or do pureblood couples not do that?"

He looked down to catch my eyes, ignoring the jab. "What do you want to talk about?"

"Well," I shrugged hopelessly, "I don't know."

He tilted his head slightly. "We could finish our conversation from the other night. As I recall, Filch interrupted us midway through."

I felt myself blush, not remembering the exact words that were spoken that night, but knowing it was not something I wanted to revisit- nor was the idea of being in a confined space with him something I wanted to think about again.

But one look back at Malfoy told me he had no intention of revisiting it either- he'd only suggested it to get a reaction. The small smirk on his face and the rising heat in my cheeks told me he'd gotten it.

"Why are you so smug all the time?" I asked, eventually, feeling the buzz behind my ears that I often got, telling me I had just crossed the line into being drunk. Oh well, maybe that was a good thing. It had been my goal after all, hadn't it? When I'd been chugging that firewhiskey like my life depended on it. Perhaps it would make it easier to have a conversation with my 'husband'.

He pretended to think about my question for a moment. "People are smug when they're correct or in control- I'm usually both those things."

I rolled my eyes exaggeratedly. "Or they're smug because they think they're better than other people."

He shrugged, "Ok, I'm all three of those things." His face remained serious, but I caught the glint of humour in his eyes.

"Get over yourself Ferretson," I told him, exasperated.

The two corners of his mouth turned up slightly.

"What's funny about that?"

His face returned to neutral and he shrugged nonchalantly, "You haven't called me that since third year."

I raised my eyebrows, partly surprised that he'd remembered, partly surprised that the memory had seemed to make him smile. "That's because I stopped talking to you after third year." That wasn't completely true, we'd still been having arguments well into fifth year. But third year was when I had well and truly decided I was sick of the boy.

"Ferretson..." he repeated, trying it out. "I'll be honest, I never got it."

I shrugged, "me neither really, but my dad always used to call your dad 'the ferret'... so I figured."

"Oh," Malfoy seemed to consider this. "That makes sense. My dad used to just call yours a c*nt."

I felt my mouth fall open, scandalised, as I stared up at him. He was only amused, though, as he looked down at me. "Oh, don't be mad, Rosie. Our dads have always hated each other."

I frowned, casting a look over his shoulder and finding Draco Malfoy with my eyes. "Don't call me Rosie," I spoke to the man whose hand was still on my waist as we swayed around the dance floor. "And my dad's not a... you know." I felt the blush crawl up my face- I wasn't coy, nor had I ever really been afraid of swearing. But there was something about that certain word that had me imagining Nana Molly's face if she even knew I said it.

He rolled his eyes. "And my dad's not a rodent, so I guess both our parents were wrong."

Well, he wasn't wrong there. Both of our parents were wrong about a lot of things.

A sigh escaped me before I could stop it, "I think I'm gonna need another drink," I told him, disconnecting our bodies and letting him follow me off of the dance floor and back to the table. He left, disappearing off to find some drinks, ever the trained gentleman. A different image than the womanising, cruel teenager I had known for the last seven years.

* * *

 **A/N: Bit of a cliffhanger, huh? Sorry about that. The next chapter will continue directly on from this. Hope you enjoyed! Please leave a review and follow, it really means a lot and is a big motivation.**


	13. Chapter 13

**Sorry this is late I know. Basically, I had it written and everything, but I went away and forgot my laptop so I had no way to upload. Whoopsy. Anyways, this chapter was fun to write. Please leave a review if you enjoy.**

 **Disclaimer: All rights to JKR.**

* * *

 **Chapter 13**

So that was how Rose found herself alone at a table in the middle of her eldest cousin's wedding. For a single second, she was relieved for the solitude, however momentary. But the next second, she found herself wishing Malfoy had never left her- however strange and foreign that thought was to her. She'd been wishing he'd leave her alone for just about the last seven years.

The reason for this traitorous wish, took the form of a certain blond wizard that was currently making a bee-line for her table. To be specific, it was the certain wizard who had unexpectedly and unceremoniously dumped her only two weeks prior.

Rose groaned loudly, feeling a sinking sensation in her stomach and looking frantically around her for some sort of rescuer. Perhaps a great-uncle that she could drag off for a dance, or a vague relation she could spark an impromptu conversation with.

But as fate, or luck, or coincidence, would have it, Rose found herself with no escape- not even a drink in front of her to pretend to be interested in as Lorcan took the seat opposite to her.

He sat casually, leaning back and looking around the room as if we were just friends and he'd just walked over for a bit of laid-back chit-chat. I raised an eyebrow at him- waiting for him to get to the point, or at least look at me instead of gazing around the hall.

"Your cousin really pulled it out of the bag, didn't she?" He opened. There was a moment's silence.

"Did you really come over here to talk about Vic's wedding planning skills?" I asked. There was more silence, but at least he was looking at me now.

"I miss you Rosie-" He began, but hardly got to finish before I was rolling my eyes and scoffing loudly. "I _do_ ," he persisted, "We were so good together."

"Didn't work out with Annette then?" I asked, my voice dry with irony. If I was sober, I probably would have just got up and walked away. But I wasn't sober.

"No," he responded, and I was almost impressed by how genuine he made himself sound. "We tried, but... it just wasn't the same. Not like it was with you."

"That's interesting, because I spoke to Annette just over a week ago, and she told me the both of you hadn't decided to 'give this marriage thing a proper go', or however you said it," I replied sarcastically, suddenly glad that there was nothing in my hands, because I didn't trust myself not to start just throwing things at him. "Do you think she forgot or... you just hadn't told her yet? Because that seems like a conversation she would have been included in."

"Rose please, I'm sorry about what happened, can't we just-"

"Why did you lie, Lorcan?" I asked him, cutting off his plea. "You wanted to be with Annette instead of me, so you lied instead of just telling me the truth? Why? To make you seem like a better person?"

He didn't respond.

"And now... what? You've realised she doesn't want you, so you're coming back to me? Second choice am I?"

"Rose..." He struggled to find a response. "It's not like that, I-"

"Can we help you?" Malfoy's voice came from behind me as he placed a drink on the table and proceeded to remain standing behind me.

"I'm talking to Rose, Malfoy, buggar off." Came the sharp reply from the other boy across from me. Honestly, I thought, what had I done to end up in this situation? I clutched the glass of champagne in front of me, eagerly taking a sip- just for something to do really.

"No, I don't think I will actually, Scamander." Came the smooth reply of the boy who still refused to move from his spot behind me.

"Rose," my former boyfriend turned his gaze to me. "Tell him you want to speak to me alone." I looked up from the glass I had been directing all my attention to.

"Honestly, Lorcan, I'd much rather you just left," I told him, and his face fell, before morphing into something ugly I hadn't quite seen on him before. It was like the face toddler's make when their parents tell them 'no', just before they throw a tantrum. He looked up, above me, to Malfoy who I could only imagine was looking insufferably smug.

"That's right, run along now and leave me and my wife alone," Malfoy told him, and I buried my face in my hands. It was as if he _wanted_ to make a scene in the middle of my cousin's wedding. Not to mention, hearing Malfoy refer to me as his 'wife' left a sensation in my stomach that I really didn't like.

"Don't forget Malfoy," Lorcan said, and the threatening tone he seemed to be going for really didn't suit him. "She was forced to be with you, she _chose_ to be my girlfriend."

"Whatever Scamander. It's still an upgrade."

Lorcan got to his feet hastily, the action pushing his chair back loudly and causing quite a few people on surrounding tables to turn and look at the scene. I sighed, exasperated as I got to my feet.

"Calm _down_ ," I told Lorcan, my voice low, "You want to have it out with each other? Fine, but not at my cousin's wedding."

"I'm not afraid of this fu-"

"Merlin's beard, Lorcan," I cut him off, " _shut up_. Will both of you just let it go - this isn't the time or place."

Out of nowhere, Hugo appeared around the table, wand already in hand. "Is there a problem here?" He asked, as if that would be intimidating. Somewhere, deep down, I found it sweet that he felt like he was supposed to do this for me- but much more than that, I was just an older sister who's patience was wearing thin.

"Hugo, put the wand away," I told him, hoping Albus or Alice or someone would appear and help me deal with all this angst. "Everything's fine, Lorcan was just going."

My gaze moved to the aforementioned expectedly. For a moment, he remained where he was, his gaze moving between us. Then, eventually, he left the table, walking back across the room the way he'd come.

"You can go back to whatever you were doing now Hugo." He stuck his chest out proudly as if he himself had successfully intimidated Lorcan into leaving me alone. I rolled my eyes but let him have it as he walked away.

I sat back down heavily, letting out a big breath as Malfoy sat beside me.

"You didn't have to provoke him," I told him irritably as I took another sip of the drink in front of me.

Malfoy only shrugged. "What's a wedding without a bit of drama? Besides, you had nothing to worry about. I'm pretty sure your brother had it covered."

I gave him a nasty look. "Don't mock him."

He held up his hands in surrender, "I'm not." Came the simple reply. "Just remind me never to cross you, I don't think I'd survive an attack from Hugo Weasley."

"You're mocking him again," I warned, watching as my now-empty glass magically refilled itself. If all the drinks did that, there would be carnage by the end of the night, I thought as I picked up my glass again.

"I'm sorry." He said, and somehow it did sound earnest. There was a pause. "What did Scamander want anyway?"

I sighed loudly, "I don't want to talk about Lorcan, do you?"

"What then?"

I probably could have told him to just go away... in fact, I was wondering why he was still sitting with me. I'm sure his grandma was appeased by now, we'd convinced her of the whole happy couple act. Surely he could go back to his family now, and I could go back to mine. Strangely, though, I was finding that I didn't mind his presence. Besides- this was the most civil we'd been with each other in weeks... I didn't want to ruin that.

"Oh I don't know," I began thoughtfully, "we could-"

"Scorp, Rose," Al barrelled into the scene- a drink-fuelled grin plastered firmly onto his face. Alice followed behind him, their hands linked. The latter giggled, pulling Al straight as he swayed on his feet. "Scorp, mate, Rose... you've got to come."

He didn't bother explaining before he was heading off towards the door with a sense of excited urgency- or at least however urgently someone can move when they've had that many drinks.

I cast a dubious look at Malfoy, but we got up and followed my cousin anyway.

"James-" Alice began to explain, still clutching Al's hand. "James is outside trying to fight a blast-skrented rewt." She hiccupped, frowned, and then laughed loudly. "A blast-ended skrewt."

I might have been worried as to why my friends were so inebriated, if it hadn't been quite so amusing- especially as we watched them stumble their way out of the castle as if they'd never learnt how to use a door.

Outside, under the vast stars, there was already a loud crowd gathering around something we couldn't see yet. Oh Merlin, if James really was 'fighting' a blast-ended skrewt, then he was stupider than I'd thought. Or perhaps just drunker.

Following my friends, we pushed through the loud audience until finding the middle- like the middle of an arena. And, like in the ancient Roman gladiator fights, two beings were in the centre.

One was my cousin, the other was- indeed- a blast-ended skrewt.

"Oh Merlin," I said, disbelief, before letting out a genuine laugh at the ridiculous sight. I felt Malfoy beside me and watch as his eyes lit up in amusement at the scene before us, just like mine must have done.

James was still in his wedding suit- he'd opted for a more muggle approach to formal wear- but his blazer had been discarded to the side and the sleeves of his shirt had been rolled up. For some reason I don't think I will ever understand, he had seemingly opted to not use his wand- as he was now standing in front of the skrewt, in a boxers position and empty hands. Clearly, the method wasn't working very well, James was already sporting many stings and cuts, and the shoulder of his shirt had been burnt away by a blast from the skrewt, revealing angry, raw skin underneath.

"Your cousin is mad," Malfoy leant down to say in my ear so that I would hear him over the din of the crowd.

I looked up at him, laughing. "absolutely mental."

The skrewt, contrary to James, seemed to be in perfect health.

My cousin went in for an attack, diving elbow-first, onto the skrewt. The crowd cheered, watching as James landed hard on the skrewt's shelled back in a way that seemed like it would do more damage to himself than the animal. Nevertheless, the creature's legs buckled and it was flattened into the floor.

A louder cheer to that, and the crowd jostled forward in excitement. The skrewt screeched, and it's stinger lashed out and hit James in the middle of his back. He jumped up, yelping, earning a mix of hyena-like laughter and a chorus of 'ooooh's as people cringed at the painful manoeuvre.

"Who brought a skrewt to Vic's wedding?" Alice asked loudly, over the pandemonium of what was happening around us.

"Aren't they illegal anyway?" I returned, earning a short burst of laughter.

"What a fucking idiot." She yelled back.

I searched the crowd as the attacks continued to go to-and-fro. Well, I say that... it was mostly just James launching himself at the skrewt and ending up getting severely hurt, whilst causing no damage to the animal.

Daisy was at the corner of what I can only describe as James' 'stage'. She was looking severely worried, and her wand was out and ready as if at any moment she might have to intervene to stop James from killing himself. And, to be fair, that probably was a good idea of hers.

Roxy and Fred were also in the crowd, looking like they had been crying of laughter for about ten minutes- barely able to stand but still somehow managing to throw pebbles in the vague direction of the skrewt to make it angrier.

A group of gasps and cries had me looking around just in time to see the skrewt send a fiery blast into the crowd- sending the spectators scattering and diving away from the projectile. The yelps of distress were soon followed by a cheer and suddenly I wasn't sure who we were supporting in this fight.

James was currently circling the animal, which was clearly becoming more agitated. It whipped it's tail around, sending its opponent sprawling onto his back. I felt myself cheering along with everyone else at the victory of the skrewt.

It was at that moment that a voice exploded over the cheering and yelling. "WHAT EES GOING ON HERE?!" It was Aunt Fleur.

The crowd began to scatter frantically- all in different directions. I laughed and took Scorpius' hand and began running in the direction her voice wasn't coming from. We ran together up the grassy hill, taking a long way round to the other side of the castle. Slowly, the people fleeing with us broke off- until me and him were the only ones left. We ran along the stone outside wall of the castle in the direction of the main entrance, me pulling him behind me, eventually slowing to a stop when we were far from Fleur's wrath.

I noticed only then that I was still holding his hand- and dropped it hastily as we came to a stop, still breathing rather heavily. Breaths that looked like mist in the cool night air.

We caught each other's eyes through the moon-lit night, and suddenly I was laughing. Laughing breathily and helplessly into the fresh air. Once I had started I couldn't stop, the bubbling feeling in my stomach fuelled by the drink in my body.

Scorpius was watching on with some level of amusement- and maybe it was the drink again, but I wasn't embarrassed. She had never laughed like this with him. It didn't feel... entirely unpleasant.

My sudden laughing fit and the champagne I had consumed earlier made me wobbly and sent me stumbling to the side. Scorpius reached out, with reflexes as quick as a seeker's, and steadied me with a hand on each of my arms.

He didn't take them away. Even as I gained a firm footing again. Nor did he take them away when I eventually found it in myself to stop laughing. The hands were still there, on either side of me, as we stood, silently, inches apart from each other. So close that the mist of our breathing mingled in the air between us.

The rest of the world was strangely quiet all of a sudden. All I could hear was our breathing and, strangely, my heartbeat, as we looked silently at each other. His steel grey eyes looking down into mine and everything else felt a million miles away.

It was just him and me, his platinum hair creating a halo around his hair in the silver moonlight. Just me and him and the air between us.

I broke the trance, stepping back and disconnecting us. His arms fell to his sides.

"We should get back," I told him quietly. There was a pause before he nodded in agreement, before leading me through the tall, main doors of the castle and into the well-lit but empty entrance hall.

We floated through the vast room and the corridors that followed, heading towards the sound of music and chatter that got increasingly louder until we found ourselves back in the main hall that was full of people.

We headed, naturally, to a table in the corner of the room. Sat around it were Al and Alice. They looked up as we sat with them- and if possible, Al looked even drunker since the last time we'd seen him.

"Scorp, _maate_ " He grinned, clapping his friend on the back as Scorpius took the seat next to him and I took the one next to Alice. "You made it out of there too, eh?" He asked, his words slurred. "I would _not_ have liked to face Fleur after encouraging a skrewt-fight at her daughter's wedding."

Alice giggled loudly. "You're so drunk, Al." She told him.

I scoffed at my friend, eyeing the drink she was currently clutching in her hand. "You're not much better."

She smiled coyly, "I don't know what you're talking about, this is my first glass."

"As if," Al interjected, "she'd been drinking like a fish all evening."

" _Albus_!" Alice exclaimed, pretending to look scandalised.

It was at that moment that James, Fred, Roxy and Daisy decided to appear, collapsing into chairs and looking utterly defeated.

"Where did all of you get to?!" James asked those of us who had already been at the table, as though he was personally offended by us. "We just had to listen to a twenty-minute lecture from Aunt Fleur, whilst all of you got off scot-free."

"To be fair, James," Daisy smiled, looping her arm around his waist as he snaked around her shoulder- as naturally as if they'd been together for years. "They weren't the ones fighting a skrewt at a wedding. That was just you"

And we could still see the proof too. James had his blazer back on, which covered the worst burn on his shoulder, but many of the stings and cuts across his body were still visible.

"You look like shit," Al told him. Not one to beat around the bush on a regular day- and certainly not whilst this drunk.

"Yeah, that skrewt really just fucked you up," Roxy added, taking a swig of firewhiskey.

James sighed, ruffling his already-messy and slightly singed hair. "I'd still rather fight two skrewt's at one time than listen to another lecture from Fleur."

"She is bloody scary," Fred joined in.

James nodded, then let a wicked smirk crawl onto his face. "Fucking worth it, though."

"Oh, that reminds me," Roxy exclaimed, getting to her feet. "I need to go find Louis... I bet him five galleons that you'd lose."

And just like that, she disappeared across the room- manoeuvring easily around tables and dodging elderly relatives in a way that I just hadn't mastered.

The night aged quickly, and drink after drink graced the table as I talked and talked with my friend and family. Eventually, all that drink got to my bladder, and I stood up, announced that I would be back in a minute, then left the table in pursuit of finding the bathroom.

Like I said, I was not so good at avoiding slightly awkward conversations with distant relatives. So ten minutes and three interruptions later, I was finally alone, staring at myself in the bathroom mirror with my hands braced on the sink. It was certainly the drink that had sent me here, but now I was finally alone and there was no music or chatter- I realised it was the first time that I felt vaguely calm since the start of the day.

Of course, it couldn't last long.

A sobbing sound was coming from one of the stalls in the bathroom. I turned, looking towards the sound and weighing my options in my head. I could leave? Perhaps they wanted to be alone? I wasn't the best at helping with people's emotions... I never had been.

But no, I couldn't do that... they surely would have heard me come in anyway. I couldn't just leave and pretend I'd never been there.

"Hello?" I asked apprehensively. The sobbing paused and I walked towards the only stall with its door closed. "Are you okay?"

"Rose?" Said an instantly recognisable voice.

"Dom?" I replied, frowning in concern and pushing the door open to find my cousin sitting on top of the toilet lid, her eyes red and puffy and her mascara running.

"Dom!" I crouched down in front of her, "what happened? What's wrong?" I asked her urgently.

"I-" She sobbed heavily, and put her face in her hands. "I just... walked in on Byron-"

I felt a sinking feeling in my stomach as I began to get the gist of what had happened. I took her hand and gave it a squeeze because it was the only thing I could really think to do in the moment.

"He was... with another girl." She finished finally and broke out into sobs again as she leant forward and enveloped me in a desperate hug. I returned it, holding her just as tightly.

"And I tried to storm off and go home, but I'm so drunk and I can't find a fireplace and I began to panic and I-"

"Shh, it's okay," I told her, in what I hoped was a soothing voice. "I'll get you home, okay? To the Burrow or Hogwarts?"

Dom sniffled softly into my shoulder, pausing for a moments thought. "Hogwarts," she decided softly.

"Okay, we'll get you back to bed before you even know it," I told her, feeling like I was speaking to a child who'd hurt their knee. "I'm just going to say goodbye to everyone and then I'm coming straight back."

She nodded silently, clutching a tissue in her fingers. I got up, unsure whether I should leave her alone, but I felt I had to let my family know where I was going. Besides, I'd left my wand at the table.

I hurried back to the table we'd all been sat at, finding my cousins and friends and... Scorpius having a heated but seemingly light-hearted debate about something or other.

"See you later everyone," I interjected, picking up my wand.

"Aww Rosie," Al complained loudly. "Where are you going?"

"I'm taking Dom back to school," I told him as he stood up to give me a hug.

"I'll come with you." Malfoy decided, getting to his feet. Taken aback, I just looked at him for a moment.

"Alright," I said eventually, then, "bye," aimed at my family.

I was met by a chorus of 'bye's' and 'see you later's' as I walked from the table, Scorpius following closely behind. I didn't ask why he'd decided to join me- I didn't know what answer he would give and that worried me, so I just stayed silent.

We found leaning against the corridor wall outside the bathroom. She eyed Malfoy warily but didn't seem to have the energy to object to his presence.

"Come on Dom," I took her hand and began leading my swaying cousin in the direction of the fireplace we arrived through. Even if I could apparate, which I couldn't yet, I'd be a fool to try it whilst so drunk. No, floo powder was the best option. I only hoped it would take us to a fireplace in Hogwarts that was close to Dom's room, so I wouldn't have to trek across a castle with my heartbroken cousin and my nemesis/husband.

Luckily, after a short walk through the French castle, and a stomach-churning trip through the chimneys that made me fight to keep my drink down, we ended up stumbling out of a fireplace into a classroom on the 7th floor.

Dom also had a battle to keep her drink down, unfortunately, it was a battle she lost. Which is how I found myself holding back my cousin's hair as she vomited out a seventh-floor window.

I cast a look at Malfoy, wondering if he was regretting coming with us yet, but he looked entirely unperturbed as he leant against the wall next to the fireplace. The classroom was dark, lit only from the moonlight filtering in through the limited window. Nevertheless, I could see his eyes watching me in a way that meant I had to look away.

Eventually, Dom seemed as though she was done, but she still remained leaning out of the window and gulping in the fresh air. "I'm sorry," she moaned, covering her face with her hands. "I'm sorry, this is so embarrassing."

"Dom, stop apologising," I told her, helping her stay steady as she straightened up again. "Let's just get you to bed, you'll feel better in the morning."

She nodded, but her legs shook, even now as she leant against the wall.

"Lean on me," I told her, placing one of her arms over my shoulder so she could use me to support her instead of the wall.

"No Rose, I'm too heavy."

She was kind of right, I decided as I felt her weight and realised I was unsure whether or not I could get us both back to her room. But, of course, I wouldn't say that.

"I've got it," Malfoy's quiet voice came out of nowhere as he crossed the room towards us. I stepped back and let him place her arm over his shoulders and replace me as her support beam.

The short trip to Dom's room wasn't that short. We stopped to let her throw up at least two times, I think, but eventually, I found myself pushing open the door to her room and letting Scorpius take Dom inside.

He sat her down on the bed and she mumbled something that sounded vaguely like 'thank you', before wasting no time in crawling under the covers, clothes and all. I walked Scorpius to the door.

"I think I should stay with her tonight," I told him quietly, standing in the open doorway as he stood in the dark common room. It must have been 1 in the morning by now, and the castle was almost as silent as I'd ever heard it. Not even the wind whistling through the windows voiced the air outside. Everything was still.

He nodded.

It was a moment of impulse, a moment of gratefulness. I reached up onto my tip-toes and kissed him gently on the cheek. Pulling back, I smiled slightly. But, as ever, the look on his face was unreadable, and the dim light didn't help.

"Good night," I said, wondering if it would prompt a reaction. When it didn't, I turned and started inside the room.

Before I could even take one step, a hand caught my arm and I was spinning back around, and then his mouth was on mine. His fingers were in my hair and on my waist as his scent was all around me. The scent of night time and old castles.

It didn't feel like last time. It didn't feel like anything I had ever felt before. And I was kissing him back before I knew what was happening. My hands were on the cool material of his dress shirt and around his neck. And I forgot where we were or who we were and I forgot my own damn name.

" _Rose_ ," he breathed against my lips, a whispered reminder in the darkening night. I didn't reply, knowing that it wasn't a question, but an exclamation.

I pressed my mouth closer to his, despising any space between us, any air between us. My hands were in his hair, tugging him closer, I wanted there to be no distinction... no way of knowing where Rose ended and He began.

We broke apart for air, panting heavily, foreheads resting together, his hands around my waist and mine still in his hair.

I didn't want to leave him, but when I opened my eyes and remembered where we were, I knew I had to look after my cousin.

"Good night," I said again, with a smile on my lips. I untangled myself from him, feeling the cold night air rush up around me in the absence of his body heat, and it took all of my self-control not to wrap myself in him again.

"Good night." He replied, and then I was back in Dom's room and there was a door between us.

The fluttering feeling in my stomach didn't go away. It didn't go away as I took my makeup off. It didn't go away when I took my bridesmaids dress off and changed into some of Dom's pyjamas. It didn't go away when I finally lay down in bed. It didn't matter, I couldn't sleep... all I could think about was how Lorcan had never said my name like that.

No one had ever said my name like that.

* * *

 **Lovely jubbly. That was one continuous chapter... no breaks- it was surprisingly easy to write. I hope you enjoyed. If you did, or even if you didn't, please please leave a review with your thoughts. Also, who's your favourite couple in the fic right now? I wanna know. See you next time! The next chapter is already pretty much written, just needs to be edited and such.**


End file.
